Scriptorium Filianicus

The Scriptorium Filianic will be consolidated

2011-03-24T16:58:00.001-07:00

This site will be deleted soon, as it has been inactive for some time.
However, the features of the Scriptorium Filianicus will be
consolidated into what has previously been the Oregon Collyridians. To
read the latest entry go to
http://oregoncollyridians.wordpress.com/category/scriptorium-filianicus/

Expect one post per week, more or less.

Lectionary for 22 Astraea 3330

2010-12-18T01:10:00.000-08:00

First Reading: 3:1:33-37

33. Look without and you shall see within; look within and you shall see without. 34. For I am the inwardness of all things: 35. I am between the ripple and the water; I am between the dancer and the dance; I am between the breathing and the breath; between the lightest word of greeting and the

thought from which it flows. 36. You have stripped away layer after layer of the world to search for Me, and have found nothing at the centre; but I was between each layer and every other. 37. Break in two an apple seed and seek to find the tree that shall grow from it. You shall find nothing. Yet the essence of the tree is in the seed. Even so am I in all things.

Second Reading: 1:5:7-12

7. And the voice of the archangel was like to the rushing of a thousand waters. 8. And she spoke, saying: “Be not afraid, for a new light is dawning over the world. Be not afraid, but approach no further, for if you cannot look on me, how should you look upon my Lady, whose handmaiden I am?” 9. And her voice grew gentle, like the wind among the icicles, and sweet beyond all telling. 10. Then she spoke, saying: “This night shall a child be born that shall be the daughter of light and the princess of all the world. 11. A child is coming that she shall carry the light of Dea into every part of creation, even to the most desolate of the places of darkness. 12. Rejoice, poor wanderers of the earth and exiles from the house of your Mother, for to you shall come a guide and a deliverer.”

Lectionary for 15 Astraea 3330

2010-12-03T08:20:00.000-08:00

First reading: 3:1:24-32

24. For She who governs the endless ages governs also the hour of every action. Let your voice call on Her in pure simplicity, for She is the Lady of the noontide and the Lady of the night, the Lady of the mountain and the valley.

25. Truly, the world is a field of conflict between the powers of good and the legions of Irkalla. The conflict is manifest in the cycles of civilizations, and also in the soul of every maid. 26. For the servants of Irkalla fasten upon the false self, like the bindweed fastens upon a growing plant. And the radiant angels of heaven stand ready to defend the soul when she shall cry upon them.

27. Truly, there is nothing in the world of matter that happens by itself, for the veil of matter is shot through with the light of the real and the darkness of the false. 28. Not even a sparrow touches down upon a twig without showing forth the conflict between evil and the good. No grain of sand shifts in the desert without reflecting some spiritual truth. 29. Not even a star falls in the farthest corner of the universe without an inward meaning. 30. What then is the wisdom of this world, which knows the outward shows of things but not their inward truth? 31. The wisdom of the world is good for the world, but what when the world shall pass away? 32. If the navigator can no longer use her legs, how shall she fare when her vessel is cast upon the shore?

Second reading: 1:5:4-6

4. Those that were princesses among them brought their crowns to the sacred grove as gifts, and shepherdesses brought the new-dropped lambs, and all the daughters of the earth brought forth the fruits thereof to lay before the cave. 5. But before the cave stood an archangel of Dea, robed in a garment so white that the eyes of earth’s children were dazzled, and with a countenance of such great beauty that it was a fearful thing to look upon her. 6. And the daughters of the earth covered their eyes and threw themselves to the ground.

Lectionary for 8 Astraea 3330

2010-12-03T08:14:00.000-08:00

First reading: 3:1:11-23

11. Does she not know that the thoughts of her mind neither pass away nor vanish into air? 12. Does she not know that every thought of greed, of hate, of lust or of anger is a scar upon her subtle body? 13. Does she not see that she surrounds herself with hateful things that are the forms of her thoughts? 14. Does she not see that evil demons harbour in these forms even as rats infest a dunghill? 15. Does she not know that when her mortal body is passed into the earth she will have no place to dwell except in that subtle body her thoughts have so distorted, and among the forms of her creation?

16. Let the soul rather fill her dwelling with the warmth of love and generosity, with the sweet, cool air of purity, and with the flowers of simplicity, humility and gentleness. 17. Let her garden flow with the fountains of virtue and lie open to the sunlight of our Mother’s love. 18. Let the soul lie only open and the sunlight will stream in, filling her with joy, warmth and beauty; for truly your Mother loves you and delights in giving Her grace.

19. Then be not bound by the world of matter, but turn your thoughts upon eternity, and the path of light shall be made clear. 20. Forget not the power of words, for a word has all the power of a thought, and a thought has power to move the earth and the heavens. 21. Therefore do not speak evil in idleness, or fall into the custom of ill-speaking, but govern your words even as your actions. 22. Speak words of love and innocence, of mildness and of hope, and you shall weave a raiment of peace about your soul, and a veil of gentle light. 23. Speak prayers often, speak them in the rhythm of your steps, and attune them to the beating of your heart.

Second reading: 1:5:1-3

1. And She walked across the seas and deep into the forests of the earth until She came upon the deep cave that was at the centre. 2. And She entered the cave, and a star rose above the sacred grove that lay about the cave, brighter and more resplendent than all the stars of the heavens, 3. and the star was seen all over the earth; and the children of the earth were filled with wonder, and they came to the place where the star stood in the sky.

Lectionary for 1 Astraea 3330

2010-11-25T08:40:00.000-08:00

Taking the time-honoured customs, the CFC lectionary starts at the beginning of the Advent season. This Sunday, November 29, is the first day of the month of Astraea -- and this year it also corresponds with the Common Lectionary start of a new church year (but not always).

First reading: 3:1:1-10

1. Thoughts of the mind neither pass away, nor vanish into air. 2. For every thought is a builder in the subtle world that lies about you. 3. Thoughts of beauty and of things of the Spirit refine and purify the soul, making her fair to look upon and graceful in her movements, 4. uniting her with the universal music of eternity and gathering about her the servants of the archangels. 5. But harsh thoughts harden the soul; coarse thoughts coarsen the soul; thoughts bound only to material things load the soul with heavy chains.

6. My children, I speak not in pictures, for truly these things are real and to be seen by all whose eyes can penetrate the veil of illusion. 7. What maiden, receiving from her mother a fine and well-made house of well-wrought oak and stone and furnished by the skillful hand of love, will break the walls and furnishings, pour filthy waters in every place and bring swine to dwell in the most splendid chambers? 8. Will she not rather bring new things of beauty and precious works of love to add to those that lie already there? 9. Will she not keep away all dirt and defilement and protect it from all damage? [10. (verse missing from available manuscripts.)]

Second reading: 1:4:1-7

1. When the first night had come upon the world, the Mistress of All Things stood alone once more, as She had in the beginning. 2. For a terrible abyss had opened to lie between the world and She, and Her creatures could not look upon Her brightness.

3. And She stood in contemplation upon the waters of the first darkness; like a great dove upon the waters She brooded. 4. She became absorbed within Her and communed with Her own self; and Her light ceased to shine forth from Her, and yet Her light grew greater. 5. Then She fell to Her knees, and the surface of the waters became turbulent and the great waves curled over Her, and their white foam could not be seen in all that darkness.

6. When the waters became calm again, the Mistress of All Things rose to Her feet: 7. for She had conceived a daughter that was not separate from Her, but one with Her, and the child of Her light.

Lectionary for 22 Werde 3330

2010-11-21T00:01:00.000-08:00

2:1:43. But she that does a kindly action shall be thrice blessed: 44. Once in the doing of it; for the hand of Dea shall rest upon her. 45. Once in the raising of her soul upon the path toward her Lady. 46. And once in the deed itself; for every rose plucked and sent forth shall come as a gift to her when her heart is weary, and every cup of wine that she gives to another shall quench the thirst of her own lips in the fullness of time.

47. She who gives succour to those who have need prepares a place of safe repose for her soul. And she who turns no creature away surrounds her soul with beautiful things. 48. For the soul that grows in love grows ever more beautiful, but the soul that turns from love is repellent of aspect. 49. Let the soul know before all that the greatest love is the love of Dea, and from this love all other loves flow. 50. Let her open herself to her Lady that She may come as a perfect love for her. Let her learn of Dea, of that eternal love which is Dea. 51. And she who loves her Lady in perfection shall have perfect love of all Her creatures, even as She has. 52. For this is the love that is perfect knowledge, and the knowledge that is perfect love.

1:5:18-19 Beyond the Spectrum

2010-11-15T04:57:00.000-08:00

1:5:18. When the shining ones ceased from their song, the world became quiet again, and the star grew brighter and ever brighter, until it shone brighter than the radiance of all the host of heaven; and yet its light was so gentle that the eyes of earth’s children were not dazzled, 19. and the colour of the light was not one of the seven, but a wondrous luminance not known within the boundaries of the world.

We like a simplistic idea to explain everything in the world. For the most part, we tend to have a very dualistic point of view: it has to be somehow black or white, yes or no. As we "evolve" and get more "enlightened" we become a bit more "open-minded" to embrace the diversity. Then this black-and-white becomes a rainbow spectrum. But still it is pretty linear and we end up pigeon-holing everyone and everything. This post-eclipse world is funny in the sense that even as it talks so much about non-conformity, diversity and individuality it is actually quite a uniform world: one has to somehow fit into one of those popular categories of "labels." You are conservative, centrist, liberal. You are gay, bisexual, straight. You are rich, middle-class, poor. Somehow the freedom of living outside or above such a linear spectrum is never offered or considered.

Dea is above and beyond and outside any human-conceived left or right, black or white, or anything else. Her glory is not comparable with anything else, and thus She cannot be pigeon-holed by anyone.

Lectionary for 15 Werde 3330

2010-11-14T00:01:00.000-08:00

2:1:35. Truly, all the cycles of the times and the seasons; all the rhythms of the soul, of the mind and of the body: truly all these flow from the love of our Lady the Maid, that each creation may not decompose flying away into black eternal chaos. 36. For light is the essence and love is the form. And it is by love that the essence of a tree remains a tree. Else it might as well become a rushing wind or a forked lightning flash.

37. How shall the soul attain to love? 38. Let her open herself to every creature in compassion and in care. 39. Let her seek to do no harm to any being. 40. Let her love extend even to those who do her hurt; and let her seek to understand them. 41. For perfect love is perfect knowledge and perfect knowledge is perfect love.

42. Let her know that no creature gains good for herself by any harmful act, for every stone returns to she that throws it in the fullness of time; and the shaft that her hand releases shall fly a thousand years until it cleaves her heart.

Lectionary for 8 Werde 3330

2010-11-07T00:01:00.000-07:00

2:1:30. Love is the force of harmony by which all existence is made possible. 31. For the perfect existence of the Spirit, its very nature is love. The pure soul is in harmony with Dea, with herself and with all things. 32. And for the existence that has fallen from perfection: truly it is the music of divine harmony which sustains it in the motion of its wholeness. 33. It is love that holds the drop of dew pendant upon a blade of grass, not flowing forth in watery profusion, but swelling within the unseen urn of its brief harmony. 34. It is love that holds the stars within their courses, and all the worlds of the immeasurable cosmos within the harmony of the celestial music.

4:1:58-60 Mastering the Mind

2010-11-05T00:01:00.000-07:00

4:1:58. Hard to govern is the mind, like to a proud horse that drinks the wind, filled with its own desires. 59. Gladly it would draw the rein from your hand and carry you where it will; gladly it would take the body for its mistress, 60. like a bird that hops from twig to twig, turning first to one fruit, then to another, without control or constancy.

The imagery of this simile about human minds is right on. Desires and distractions are constant challenges in our minds, and maintaining control and constancy truly is an art and discipline. Many books have been published, many self-appointed masters and experts have given lectures and sold recordings, and many people have flocked to human potential seminars, zen retreats, spiritual development centres and other venues, spent hundreds and thousands of dollars, all in attempts to master their minds to achieve a good life.

Yet, human minds are ever deceptive and hard to manage. Mental health industry is both lucrative and challenged. Even as public funding of basic mental health services dwindle and many low-income people are cut off from mental health care, private practices for the affluent clients draw enough income for the practitioners to live a upper middle-class life. Some try to find that mastery through 12-step peer support groups, or even residential programs. These and the expenditures on psychiatric drugs, we as society certainly spend a lot of money on controlling the mind.

It is a good thing that the Filianic Scriptures clearly notes that our minds are not our essence; lest those who have mental problems would be considered defective persons.

It is hard to govern the mind. This is why it is good to pray for miracles to happen first and foremost within our minds. Change within and it will change without.

3:2:32-33 Entitlement and grace

2010-11-03T00:01:00.000-07:00

3:2:32. But when she came to her sisters and told them all that she had learned, in anger they turned against her. 33. Some close to the fire cried, “Sure you are seeking to rob us of our place for which we have contended and rightly have earned.”

We humans have a tendency to be very zealously protective of what we feel was hard-earned. After all, we have put in so much time and energy into what we think is what we have rightfully earned. Then we become angry when others whom we perceive that did not sufficiently "earn their rights."

The same holds true with the grace of Dea. Many feel that they have earned their spirituality and wisdom through years of discipline and practices. Then they get angry when some "undereducated" person from the middle-of-nowhere comes and starts expressing their faith as though it was something so easy. Many are afraid that such a person would cheapen and dilute the sanctity of faith.

Hence many who encounter divine revelations are often met with scorn by established religious leaders as well as their followers.

It is interesting to note that in today's verses, those close to the fire accused the maid for "rob[bing] us of our place." Petty jealousy, territorialism and exclusivism run counter to Dea's light.

1:5:16-17 A celestial choir

2010-11-01T00:01:00.000-07:00

1:5:16. At once the air was filled with the daughters of heaven, and the sky was ablaze with the radiance of their joy, 17. and they sang aloud to the glory of Dea.

"Ablaze with the radiance of their joy." When was the last time you have seen anything ablaze with joy? The ultimate expression of such an extreme joy is the praise of the glory of Dea. Why were the angels ablaze with joy?

All things in the universe are fragmented reflections of the glory of Dea, according to the Filianic Scriptures. She has created all things out of overflowing delight. Now the Daughter of Dea is not just a fragment but a fullness of Her glory. How much more the delight would be?

Lectionary for 1 Werde 3330

2010-10-31T04:05:00.001-07:00

2:1:23. How shall the soul approach to light? 24. Let her make her every act a resplendent creation, and let every outpouring of her strength be a well-made gift for her Lady. Let her not fall into dullness, but be ever creating herself anew in the delight of her strength. 25. Let her not seek for reward, but only for her own perfection; thus the action itself shall become perfect. Let her turn from the transient and find delight in the eternal. 26. For every earthly action is the shadow of some higher form; and the soul must choose whether in her act she shall approach that form, or sink from it into deeper shadows and the morass of illusion. 27. She who rejects the light of the Spirit in this world shall, beyond death, be plunged into darkness and the confusion of bodiless echoes. 28. But every act that is performed in dedication to the Mother is an expression of the soul’s true self, and loosens the chains of her bondage. 29. If the soul lives in light, nothing shall be impossible to her, for her will shall become one with the will of our Lady.

3:2:31 Boddhisattva.

2010-10-26T00:01:00.000-07:00

3:2:31. The maid joyfully lived in the light of the sun, until, giving thought to her sisters, she resolved herself to return into the darkness, so that she might bring them with her to the light.

In Buddhism, a boddhisattva is someone who has already achieved the enlightenment (liberation) but by their own volition decided to live with the unenlightened until the latter can attain liberation. In some ways a boddhisattva (pusa in Chinese) -- especially the Guanshiyin Pusa, or Guanyin for short -- illustrates the Daughter of Dea in the Filianic Scriptures.

While She is the ultimate boddhisattva who, being the very Daughter of Dea, did not need to be even liberated, yet chose to live among the maids in the broken world so She might bring them to the light.

Many of us have come out of "something" -- poverty, addictions, debilitating illnesses, troubles with law, etc. -- each of us has a unique experience with the "darkness" and then experienced the light of Dea. It is also our mission, individually and collectively, to be the light-bringers to the darkness from which we emerged. It is easy to become isolated in a sort of a religious "gated community" -- but what good is it if our faiths do not make any difference in other people's lives? I have read somewhere (cannot remember the source) that a worth of a religion is measured by the values it confers upon its non-adherents.

1:5:15 Light from light, perfection from perfection

2010-10-25T00:01:00.000-07:00

15. Then a cry issued out of the cave, saying: “The holy child is born from the most holy Mother; light has come forth from light, perfection from perfection.”

During the past several decades of the 20th century, Japan had a bit of obsession with bringing in great institutions from abroad and building a local branch right at home. During the 1980s and 1990s, anything from the Temple University to the Bostom Museum of Fine Arts to the Hard Rock Cafe to even the Universal Studio and the Disneyland were built in Japan during this period of economic heyday.

Now I wonder why. For very long, the Japanese people had this perception that it has been too isolated from the rest of the world, first due to its geographical isolation from the Asian continent, second due to the Tokugawa shogunate policy of near-complete isolationism that lasted for two centuries, and then third due to the second world war. When World War II ended and the devastated country saw once again the influx of western people and cultural artefacts, their interests in learning foreign languages and travelling abroad also increased. During the 1980s, it was even cheaper for them to take a vacation in Guam, Hawaii or Australia than to go somewhere domestically. Their nebulous search for "kokusaika" (internationalization) persisted during this period.

But the reality is, they admire the foreign ways of life to some extent -- albeit in a very romanticized and unrealistic way -- mostly involving western cultures. They had built not only the Disneyland but homegrown replicas of European towns in La Parque España and Huis Ten Bosch. For those National Geographic types, there is even a place called the Little World where one can explore authentic ethnic houses from all over the world in one day! The idea is to make this as "honkakuteki" -- authentic and realistic (whatever that might mean to them) as possible.

Now, back to today's verse. What does all this have to do with it? We all suffer from the isolation from the world beyond the stress and struggles and ugliness of this planet and our daily grinds. We might look into the blue yonder looking for a God in the sky, and indeed many religions developed and adopted various -- often very rigorous -- methods that purport to bring one closer to the divine. But what if we had a little piece of God -- a very "honkakuteki" one -- that looks and smells and feels just like the "real" one (sure, how many people who had gone to Huis Ten Bosch can actually compare it to a real town in the Netherlands, without having been there personally, but that's another story).

So here is someone who comes to this world, just this authentic likeness of Dea in all Her glory and power. People exclaimed, "light from light, perfection from perfection" -- that is the message at the very heart of the Holy Mythos.

Lectionary for 22 Vois 3330

2010-10-24T00:01:00.000-07:00

18. Light is pure force or delight. It is the joy of Dea, and Her breath and spirit. 19. Light is the outpouring of life into existence. All things that exist come from life; they are made and sustained by light.

20. Though an existing thing appears never so solid, yet its body is made of light. All material things are but consolidated force; and the vibration of force is the whole of their being. 21. Yet material things are far from the source of light. They have become subject to consolidation and restriction. 22. Pure light knows no bounds, but is perfect joy, and breathes its own perfection.

4:1:55-57 Those who control minds control life.

2010-10-20T18:32:00.000-07:00

4:1:55. But you shall never pass away; when all the worlds are dust you shall endure. 56. Therefore, have governance of your mind. Do not let it be your ruler in any way. 57. Keep it in purity as a temple built of air and a place of devotion.

Some quantum physicists are beginning to discover the wonders of the subatomic world. According to these scientists, the matter is not really a solid matter with immutable characteristics but rather a cloud of unpredicatable pool of possibilities that behaves based on the thoughts of an observer.

If this is true, we may have a greater idea about how prayer works (or more precisely how Dea works through people's prayers). If our minds affect changes in the macro world, as the Filianic Scriptures state in 3:1:19-20, "Then be not bound by the world of matter, but turn your thoughts upon eternity, and the path of light shall be made clear. Forget not the power of words, for a word has all the power of a thought, and a thought has power to move the earth and the heavens," then we can understand that Dea works mainly within our minds so She could manifest Her works through people's thoughts and intentions.

3:2:29-30 Thinking outside the box leads to discovery

2010-10-20T18:25:00.000-07:00

3:2:29. and her light was one hundred times brighter than the fire, and her warmth one hundred times greater; yet she did not scorch the flesh nor sear the eyes, as often did the fire to those that came too close. 30. And more than this, the air was clear, and was not filled with smoke.

We are often heavily conditioned with this black-and-white, either-or, all-or-nothing thinking since childhood. The culture has a tendency to over taxonomize all things. Hence it is often difficult to conceive that there can be options that lead to a win-win, that satisfies two seemingly dichotomous solutions. What Dea in Her infinite wisdom provides is just like this light of the sun that a cave dweller has seen for the very first time. The sunlight meets our needs for both light and heat, far better than any of our inventions. More importantly, at seeing the sunlight she has been freed from the pre-conceived perception of dichotomy and the ideas about how things ought to be. Her eyes are truly opened.

1:5:13-14 Anticipation

2010-10-20T18:19:00.000-07:00

1:5:13. When the voice of the archangel ceased, a silence fell that was the first true silence since the beginning of the world, and the last that shall be until its end, 14. and the children of earth watched the sky as the first rays of dawn crept across the heavens.

Sometimes anticipation makes time feel longer. Much longer. Like a crowd waiting to see a once-in-a-lifetime astronomical phenomenon, a silence thickly surround the place in an intentful anticipation. When was the last time did you have that kind of experience, and for what reason?

Do you anticipate for the appearance of Dea in a silent moment -- awaiting mindfully, in excitement and solemn awe?

Lectionary for 15 Vois 3330

2010-10-17T00:01:00.000-07:00

2:1:10. As in the world of matter there are four fixed points by which the corporeal vessel may know its course, so, in the compass of the spirit, are there three to guide the soul. 11. The first is life, or wholeness, the light of the Absolute; the second is light, or force, the light of the Mother; the third and gentlest light is love, the light of our Saviour, the Maid. 12. Life is the life of the spirit, the first principle; beyond being and unbeing. Life was before existence. Life is the cause of existence. 13. How shall the soul live in life? 14. Let her realize the truth of her self and the truth of the Absolute. Let her know that her life is beyond even her existence, that the absolute life, the life of Dea, is beyond all existence. 15. Let her not be held from herself or her Dea by anything that exists, for all the things that are have come from nothing and to nothing shall return. But the divine life, and her life within it, was ever and shall ever be, though time itself shall only last a space. 16. Let her not trust the ground her feet are set upon and doubt the ground upon which that ground stands. Rather let her doubt the sea, the sky, the fingers of her hand and the breath of her mouth; for all these things may be illusions, as in some sense they are. 17. But let her know life divine as the truth beyond truth and the faith beyond faith and doubt.

4:1:53-54 Impermanence of life

2010-10-15T00:01:00.000-07:00

4:1:53. For longer than the body you shall hold it [the mind]; and when the body passes into dust, still it shall be with you. 54. Yet in its turn it shall pass away, in its appointed season.

We often feel that we are invincible. We prize our strengths, abilities and intelligence. We reward people who are physically strong through many sports competitions such as the Olympics and the FIFA World Cup, and we also recognize and give honours to those with extraordinary intelligence through the Nobel Prizes and others.

Yet, even the gold medalists from the 1980 Moscow Olympics, many of whom were trained from early childhood in countries that highly valued achievements in sports, are now 30 years older and entering their upper middle age and even retirement. Their physical strengths and agilities are no longer capable of defeating today's Olympians. Likewise, even a Ph.D. from the Oxford or Harvard is not entirely immune from senility, dementia and even brain death. They too may be found in a nursing home, no longer even able to remember whether they had just eaten breakfast 30 minutes ago.

It is important and good to make the best of our lives, and use our Dea-given physical and mental capacities for the fulfilment of our destinies and for the good of the world. We ought to exercise and study, and take a good care of ourselves. Yet, we are not our achievements. Our muscles and mental capacities do not replace our spirits and their needs for a unity with Dea.

3:2:27-28 End of a tunnel

2010-10-13T00:01:00.000-07:00

3:2:27. And having travelled long in this darkness, she saw a light which grew greater as she advanced, 28. until she came out upon the upper world, all lit and warmed by the sun.

Here the verses allude to a traditional three-tiered worldview (also found in shamanism, as well as in many world religions) of the heaven, earth and the underworld. The maid, who has left the darkness of the cave, journeys through the utter darkness, now reaches the end of the tunnel to the ground surface. She for the first time feels the light and heat of the sunlight. What would that be, for someone who had never experienced the true daylight, whose only source of light and warmth was a bonfire in her cave?

Likewise, many of us grow up thinking that the state of deprivation and imperfection is the norm, just like she thought the bonfire was the brightest and best thing in the world, until she was awakened to see that there must be something better. The world in which we live is full of ignorance, violence and evil. Often we see them as part of the reality that we have come to "live with." Yet, it is neither the way the world should be nor is the way Dea had intended the world to be.

Stretching the imagination and exploring the possibilities that a better world is somewhere, and that the possibility of a better world is within our reach, even if that means we might have to explore the uncertain path in the darkness, is the beginning of our liberation. This comes with a willingness for outside-the-box thinking, risk-taking and boldness.

1:5:12 The nature of the human state

2010-10-11T00:01:00.000-07:00

1:5:12. Rejoice, poor wanderers of the earth and exiles from the house of your Mother, for to you shall come a guide and a deliverer.

The Filianic cosmology, consistent with the traditional worldview common in both Western and Eastern faith traditions, reflects the notion that we have fallen from the perfection and total union with Dea, into a world of separation in which we are exiled, wandering without a clear sense of direction. Indeed our whole lives are spent on finding that direction, that divinely-given destiny, and the path back to that state of complete unity and peace with Dea. Many a religious teachers, sages and messianic figures appeared and gone, all preaching that they possess a secret knowledge of liberation from this state of separation and exile. From the deepest place in our souls we long for a unity and peaceful connection with the Lady who created us along with all things seen and unseen. Here, the scriptures proclaim the arrival of a guide and a deliverer: the very being of Dea who has separated Herself from Herself and came to the world of the maids, so that in Her invasion of the maidenly world She may again resacralize and reunify us into Her perfect love.

Lectionary for 8 Vois 3330

2010-10-10T00:01:00.000-07:00

2:1:1. Existence is a web of tapestry. 2. A web is a pattern of many crossroads connected by short paths. 3. Some crossroads are the intersection of many paths, some of but a few. Some are great and some are small. Each path has its own colour.

4. Every crossroads is a choice, and every choice has a spiritual meaning. 5. In each turning we choose either to come closer to Perfection or else to move away from Her. 6. In the first way the soul perfects herself in beauty; in the second she grows duller and more coarse. 7. In the first way she learns happiness even in dearth, and gathers riches of the spirit; in the second she learns pain even amid opulence, and the spirit walks in rags.

8. Where lead the paths? The first to the foot of the celestial throne; the second to the dark gates of the realm of death. 9. How shall the soul know her direction?

4:1:51-52 And yet, mind does not rule supreme.

2010-10-08T00:01:00.000-07:00

4:1:51. You are not your mind, nor is your mind any portion of you. 52. It is an estate which you hold for a time, and after a time it shall pass from you.

Often there is a confusion between mind and soul. The mind is not the essence of a person, it is something that is contained in one's brain and it dies when the brain dies. This is why people with brain damages and mental illnesses behave and perceive the world in such ways that appear to be bizarre to many uninformed people, but that does not mean those with dysfunctional brains have character defects. The mind functions rather as an interface between the physical and spiritual worlds, performing interpretive and analytical tasks.

This means there is something even greater than the mind. Mind is important, but not the essence of one's being.

3:2:25-26 Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

2010-10-06T00:01:00.000-07:00

3:2:25. And one maid, becoming tired of this strife, journeyed away from the fire; away even from the half-light where the weakest dwelt in misery and envy. 26. This maid journeyed into the blackest darkness in which there was neither light nor warmth.

Religious historian Mircea Eliade (1907-1986) authored a very well-known book on shamanism. Eliade dedicates whole chapters on how shamans find their vocations, how they gain their shamanic powers, and how they are initiated and publicly recognized as a shaman. One of the key elements of a shamanic formation process is one's journey downward to death (and even "contemplating upon one's corpse"). Michael Berman, in The nature of shamanism and the shamanic story, makes a case that the Hebrew prophet Jonah's narrative in the Old Testament follows a similar pattern, of finding vocation, descending and ascending back.

Sometimes it appears to be paradoxical -- and even counter-productive -- to attempt to find a solution for the darkness by departing the light and descending into a place with no light or warmth. After all, many reason, a little light is better than nothing, it may be hard to come by once lost. Taking too much risk is reckless and irresponsible, says the conventional social wisdom. "If it ain't broken, don't fix it," others may say. After all, the little light worked for centuries, why invent the wheel all over again?

The process of formation for a shaman is to find the real light by forsaking the false light. False (or imperfect) light becomes a distraction when you are in search for the true light. As such, dying to one's false self becomes the first step for a transformation. This message is also found in the New Testament; unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. (John 12:24 NRSV.)

1:5:9-11 Light shall come.

2010-10-04T00:01:00.000-07:00

1:5:9. And her voice grew gentle, like the wind among the icicles, and sweet beyond all telling. 10. Then she spoke, saying: “This night shall a child be born that shall be the daughter of light and the princess of all the world. 11. A child is coming that she shall carry the light of Dea into every part of creation, even to the most desolate of the places of darkness.

It is good to know that there are no places too bad or too dark for the Daughter of Dea to infiltrate. Even the places we often consider the "living hell on earth" is exceptions from the "every part of creation." This is a good news for all, since we often tend to think that our world may even be the worst place on earth. Nothing is hopeless or impossible in the eyes of the princess of all the world. She comes in, bearing the light, to transform darkness into light. Even the most desolate of the places of darkness anyone could ever imagine will be illumined.

Lectionary for 1 Vois 3330

2010-10-03T00:01:00.000-07:00

First Reading

4:3:26. Hard is the path upon the mountain and narrow is the way. Yet no one knows joy to its fullest measure except only those who tread it. 27. None shall call upon Me and be lost. Every cry of the world I shall heed; and when the whole of a heart cries upon Me, that soul shall I take beneath My mantle. 28. Cry and you shall have answer; love and you are beloved, hope and your hope shall be fulfilled, in this world and in all the worlds to come. 29. Hold fast to the truth, for the truth is a pillar; a steadfast pillar that all the world cannot shake. 30. Not by the breadth of hair it has moved since time’s dawning, nor yet by the breadth of hair until time has its end. 31. From the uttermost height of the heaven descends the pillar; it descends down as a glorious pillar of light. To the nethermost depths of the hells it descends; not even the might of the demons can move it the breadth of hair. 32. Like a mist is this world that surrounds the pillar; like a mist that is swiftly dispelled by the cold wind of death. 33. Hold fast to the truth, for the truth, is your shelter; a sure refuge against which neither death nor the storm shall prevail. 34. This world shall be scattered like straw, and hundreds shall follow; and each in its turn shall be scattered like chaff on the wind. 35. The empires are born and decay, the stars live and perish, but the pillar of truth does not move even by the breadth of hair. 36. Like a play is your life, and the acting of an actor; like a painted scene is all the things of the world. 37. The things of your life, its acts and its purposes; where shall they be in two thousand years from this day? Yet two thousand years are no more than a breath in the measureless life of your soul. 38. The things you do, in and of themselves, are nothing; the things you build or that you destroy. The things the foolish take for life’s high purpose are but painted scenes against which the play is played. 39. For the play is not on earth but in the heaven, not in the body, nor yet in the mind, but deep within the soul. 40. Truly, the truth of the play is the dance of the soul; 41. her journey through forests and plains, over seas, over mountains; her restless and wearisome quest through the whole world; 42. and each step brings her nearer to that which she yearns for in secret; or else, in her ignorance, carries her further away. 43. Like a leaf on the wind is the foolish soul blown without purpose: the plaything of passions, the puppet of every desire; 44. knowing neither from where she comes, nor where she is going; seeking substance in shadows and having no heed for the truth. 45. All the glories of earth are but shadows of heavenly splendour; all earthly desires but reflections of heavenly love. 46. Hold fast to the truth, for the truth is your guide through the labyrinth. Hold fast to the truth and your steps shall not be led astray. 47. Hold fast to the truth, and give heed to the lucid recital, for the pillar of truth does not move by the breadth of hair.

Second Reading

1:10:24. And as it is performed above in the Spirit, so is it reflected below in the body and the soul, and through the reflection do earth’s children have part in the real. 25. So were the things that are told in this book reflected in the hearts of maids, that all might read them and draw closer to She that acted them.

4:1:49-50 Mind over body.

2010-10-01T00:01:00.000-07:00

4:1:49. Therefore, have governance of your body. Do not let it be your ruler in any way. 50. Keep it in purity as a temple built of earth and a place of devotion.

Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak," proclaims the holy gospel according to St. Matthew (26:41, NRSV). As a graduate student, I have had more than several occasions in which I told myself that I could finish all the projects by staying up late or getting up early, but after being up all night long I accomplished nothing. Similar kind of experiences may be told by those who make a new year's resolution to lose weight, or those who are in recovery from substance abuses. We all have high ideals and some confidence that we can do it all by our own physical strengths, but too often we succumb to the weaknesses of the body. This is why today's verse says, "do not let it be your ruler in any way." This physical world is far from the perfection, and that we fail because we have such limitations of our capacities. We all get hungry, sleepy, distracted, ill, and ultimately die. Those are part of the natural functions. While it is also incorrect to pursue a unhealthy asceticism that denies the body and its needs, the main idea of this passage is to correctly align ourselves to achieve harmony in life -- and live a life that approaches the divine perfection daily.

3:2:22-24 Obsessed with the shadows.

2010-09-29T00:01:00.000-07:00

3:2:22. There once lived a race of maids in the deepest caves of the earth, beset with chill and darkness. 23. And in the uttermost depths of those caves they burned a fire, shedding a little light and warmth upon that world. 24. And the maids lived close to the fire; sometimes in harmonious accord, ensuring that each should have just portion of the light, but more often in strife and contention wherein the strong thrust themselves to the front and the weak were forced back into the darkness.

This analogy is familiar to those who have studied even a bit of Greek history in high school. As with Plato's analogy of cave people, what we perceive about the world is only reflections of the real. This is not simply in the area of religion but also in many fields of science, ranging from astronomy to biology to geology. Even history and archaeology are essentially a series of informed yet biased inferences and interpretations based on the little shadows of the realities.

While it is not wrong -- and it is really the only practical way -- to hold onto the small pieces of the truth, it becomes wrong when one attempts to monopolize and absolutize that little reflection of the Divine. This is where fundamentalism begins, by mistaking the material manifestations and reflections of the Divine for the very Creator and the infinite wisdom of the same. In so doing, often times the religious authorities, the strong powers that be, try to "thrust themselves to the front and the weak were forced back into the darkness." Hence the revelation becomes not only a kind of idolatry but also a means to control people's access to the Divine.

1:5:8-9 Merely a shadow of the things to come.

2010-09-27T00:01:00.000-07:00

1:5:8. And she spoke, saying: “Be not afraid, for a new light is dawning over the world. Be not afraid, but approach no further, for if you cannot look on me, how should you look upon my Lady, whose handmaiden I am?”

A messenger of Dea delivers Her messages to the humankind. Yet, none of the messages can express the fullness of Her glory; no words or metaphors can capture the depth and width and height and breadth of the fullness of the Divine beauty, wisdom and strength. Any prophetic message is merely a foreshadow -- a sneak preview -- of the thing to come. If even angels cannot show us the fullness of Dea, then no religious leaders, no thealogians, no preachers and no philosophers can either. We see only but a small bit of who Dea is, and yet that encounter with even a miniscule part of Dea is life-transforming. Such is the power of Dea, to whom all glory, honour, blessings and power for all eternity.

Lectionary for 22 Abolan 3330

2010-09-26T00:01:00.000-07:00

The First Reading:

1. Upon the heaven are these words inscribed, the words of your salvation. Upon the heaven in signs of fire before the dawn of time. Upon the crystal tablet that does not pass away. 2. In the tongue of tongues they are inscribed, and in the tongue of angels that was before all tongues.

3. What is your language of the earth, My children? What are the words of your speech? 4. Are they not fallen from the first, the mother language? Are they not broken and impaired? 5. Yet I have brought to you a clear recital; a faultless sound of the celestial voice. 6. I have forged your words into a crystal mirror that they may reflect the truth; and the words that are written upon the heaven are transcribed without fault upon the earth. 7. Gaze deep into the crystal mirror and your heart shall be transformed; listen to the clear recital. 8. For there is no other truth than this, nor is any other way to salvation.

9. Those who have seen these signs and do not heed them: they are ignorant and full of folly. 10. Hard are their hearts, like ice that resists love’s fire. 11. In the things of the world they have rested their trust; they seek truth in the veil of illusion. 12. One hundred pursuits they pursue, and in them they seek contentment. 13. Ask them: where shall you hide when the storm is upon you, and wherein shall you take shelter?

14. “One hundred safe places there are, and one hundred good havens,” even so shall they answer. 15. One hundred most truly there are, yet but one is the truth, and the ninety and nine are illusion. For this world shall dissolve and its splendours shall be vanished; its pain and its sorrows shall pass like the summer rain. 16. Life is not long, death is swift in the coming; and the ninety and nine thousand things shall be gone, but the truth shall remain.

17. The world is but a shadow, yet it is a shadow of truth; and at the ending of the age the world shall be redeemed. 18. Neither a leaf upon a bramble shall be lost, nor a blade of grass pass into nothingness. 19. But you, My children, of all the world, you alone have power to choose; and thus you are called maid, for maid is she that has the power of choosing.

20. Fix then your will upon the truth and your heart upon the Spirit My Mother, for by your love the world shall be redeemed, even to the last blade of grass. 21. In your work praise Her and in your resting, in your speech and in your silence. 22. For you were made one with Her, and this is your true estate. It is good for a maid to till the soil, but it is better to live with her Lady. It is good to build and to weave, but it is better to live with her Lady. It is good to serve maids in every way, but it is better to live with her Lady. 23. She who lives wholly with her Lady is the servant of all the world; no labour is so great as this, nor so greatly to be honoured. 24. She that has followed Me upon the mountain lives wholly with her Lady and treads no step without Her. 25. She eats not to herself, but to her Lady; she neither moves nor drinks to herself.

The Second Reading:

16. And She entered the great temple of heaven, where the spirits of earth’s children were gathered at the sacrifice, even as their souls were gathered on the earth. 17. Then She stood at the great altar and took up a wheaten loaf, and spoke, saying: 18. “Like to the grains, My body was cut down by the scythe of death; and like to the grains did it rise anew. 19. For I am the ear of grains that is reaped in silence.” 20. She said: “Like to the grains my body was broken between the stones of death.” And saying thus, She broke the bread between Her hands. 21. And She gave the fragments of the bread to the spirits of earth’s children, saying: “Here is My body that is broken for you. Eat My body, that you may be one with My body, and may be one body in Me.”

22. Then She poured out Her Spirit from hands into a great chalice, and Her Spirit lay as wine within the chalice. 23. She said: “Even as you have offered Me bread in sacrifice, so I give you the bread of My body; and as you have poured out libations of wine to Me, so I pour out the eternal libation of My eternal Spirit.”

4:1:47-48 Life on loan.

2010-09-24T00:01:00.000-07:00

4:1:47. You are not your body, nor is your body any portion of you. 48. It is an estate which you hold for a time, and after a time it shall pass from you.

There are two false extremes. On one end, there are those who say, "I am going to be dead anyway, so why should I bother being healthy? It is my spirit and soul that matter." On the other end, there are those who say, "My body is my essence, my body is sacred. I take very good care of my body, and also fill it with pleasures as all acts of pleasures are sacred."

According to the traditional Filianic cosmology, we are incarnations of the universe. We are axial beings, positioned on both spiritual and physical planes. Our very existence is like a microcosm, a smaller-scale model of the whole universe itself. Yet, our physical lives are finite and under many limitations. Our lives are on loan, so to speak, while we learn to choose perfection and come closer to Dea.

3:2:20-21 Born again.

2010-09-22T00:01:00.000-07:00

3:2:20. For every human soul began in good, yet she is riven through with kear. 21. Unless she dies and be reborn in Spirit, her fairest rose shall have a canker, her sweetest wine shall turn to vinegar.

Being born again. It is an inconvenient message. It would be easier to say that we are perfect, as we were created by the Perfection. Yet deep inside everyone knows we are not perfect. Even our best efforts fall short. Just think of your best, major accomplishment that took place 20 years ago. Now you probably think you could have done better. There are always rooms for improvement. We are all on the path to perfection.

What does it mean to be reborn in Spirit? The soul is riven with kear. Kear causes a spiritual blindness. We know on one level we are imperfect, yet we cannot see the way out -- or even worse, we become so complacent with the imperfection. Being reborn in Spirit is like regaining a sight after lifetime of blindness. It opens new possibilities for life.

Reading for the Feast of Divine Life

2010-09-21T18:36:00.000-07:00

3:5:1. From the branch of a tree Rhiannë plucked an apple, and She split the apple in two halves, so that the five-pointed star formed by its seeds might be seen. 2. Then She removed the seed representing the topmost point, and held it in the palm of Her hand. And She spoke, saying: 3. “Like to this apple seed is all the teaching I have given and shall give to you. 4. Like to the full apple is all the knowledge relative to your sphere of being, 5. Like to all the other apples of the tree is the knowledge relative to all the numberless spheres. 6. But behind these spheres lies a deeper reality; changeless, beyond the impermanent flux of time. 7. For even as the apple turns from bud to bloom, from blossom to the fruit, ripens, matures, decays and is reborn; 8. so also shall the spheres and galaxies, the subtle realms, the sure and solid earth; so shall all these in their season pass away, and in their season be reborn again. 9. Thus has it been ten thousand times before, and countless times again, thus shall it be.

1:5:6-7 Magnificence and Awe

2010-09-20T00:01:00.000-07:00

And the daughters of the earth covered their eyes and threw themselves to the ground. And the voice of the archangel was like to the rushing of a thousand waters.

For city dwellers like me, it helps sometimes to have a change of scenery. I like to take a short trip out to a place where the landscape is not crowded with endless row or houses and skyscrapers. There are many places where the magnificence of the nature is so great, so big in scale, that one would feel almost paralyzed in awe of the greatness. There are places where people travel from around the world to see this. Niagara Falls, Crater Lake, Grand Canyon... the sheer bigness of the nature makes our problems and bickering over them just so trivial.

Then imagine seeing an angel. Even better, imagine seeing Dea Herself, who is even greater than Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls and Crater Lake combined and multiplied by a few millions.

Who am I? What am I?

Especially in a city living it becomes so easy to be self-absorbed, and lose sight of the big picture.

Lectionary for 15 Abolan 3330

2010-09-19T07:16:00.000-07:00

The First Reading

4:2:23. You shall obey your Lady, though all the world deny Her; and thus obey each lady of the earth whose authority flows from the fountainhead of Her truth. 24. Though the world pays no honour and power lies in the hand of tyranny, 25. for though in this place you seem only but a few, and Her servants reduced to a remnant, yet in truth the age of the unbelievers is but a moment in the endless stream of time, 26. and this world only but a grain of sand on the shore of unnumbered worlds. 27. In truth you are surrounded by the bright host of Her children, serried through time and space, in whose light the unbelievers are but the remnant of a remnant, and their world but a cobweb in the midst of a glittering palace. 28. And you are one with that shining host; each radiant soul is your sister.

The Second Reading

1:10:1. And as She walked, the children of the earth threw blossoms before Her, and though Her feet rested on them, they were not bruised. 2. And She reigned over all the earth, bringing all nature back to life, and all life back to the true law and rhythm of nature, and the whole world knew Her as its princess. 3. The children of the earth were filled with love for Her, and gathered about Her with tears of joy, touching Her robes and giving themselves to Her in their hearts.

Announcement: Format change in the Scriptorium

2010-09-19T07:12:00.000-07:00

Starting this week, there is a small format change in this website. This is primarily due to the author's increased workload and the previous format has increasingly become untenable.

On Sunday, there will be readings from the new Collyridian Filianic Lectionary (found in the back of the NCUV 2nd ed.) posted for that week. This will not be accompanied with any commentaries.

On Monday, two verses from the Group A (either the Holy Mythos or the Crystal Tablet) will be presented with short commentaries.

On Wednesday, two verses from the Group B (the Filianic texts) will be presented.

On Friday, two verses from the Group C (the Wisdom texts) will be presented.

No denials. (3:2:19)

2010-09-06T00:01:00.000-07:00

And thus they will deny the kear of their own souls. But they are the prisoners of a lie, and the truth is not with them.

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. -- 1 John 1:8-10 (NRSV)

In the previous verse, the Scripture points out the error of those who claim that the humans are naturally good and all good things may be achieved by them. Here it points to another error: the denial of our own shortcomings.

Every one of us has certain amount of personal skeletons. Even those who are admired as saints are not exceptions to this. No one alive today has ever reached the perfection, nor has anyone who has lived in history. While we can and must strive to make positive choices and live a good life, it is only possible with the Spirit of Dea and only by Her grace. Being far from the ultimate perfection, we repeatedly fall short without the divine strength.

Those who deny their own kear essentially state that they have already reached the perfection, there is nothing to learn and nothing to improve on, and there is no one from whom they need to learn. It is this self-absorbed blindness that often leads people to a catastrophe that would cause themselves an irreparable damage.

Only a glimpse of the glory. (1:5:5)

2010-09-05T21:26:00.000-07:00

But before the cave stood an archangel of Dea, robed in a garment so white that the eyes of earth’s children were dazzled, and with a countenance of such great beauty that it was a fearful thing to look upon her.

The angel reflects only a small fraction of the glory of Dea. Indeed, until the humans lost their connection to the perfection and fell away, the glory of the angels were lesser in comparison to that the humans. Nonetheless, the countenance of such great beauty surpasses any beauty this world and humans could mirror. When does such an exceeding beauty become a fearful thing to look upon?

It has been said that no one can behold the full glory of Dea and live. In the Hebrew Scriptures, Moses was hidden deep between rocks and even then was able to take a glimpse of God's backside for a fraction of a second. Even then Moses' life was changed forever. Even a very small glimpse of the glory was enough.

But we are good! (3:2:18)

2010-08-30T00:01:00.000-07:00

Those who know neither the good doctrine nor have beheld the light will say that maids are good, and all good things may be achieved of maids...

Humanists and other objectors to "organized religions" often say that people are intrinsically good (or "good" is irrelevant because it is merely a relative value judgment based on standards humans invented for themselves) and thus do not need external deity or supernatural entity to "save them" from "sins."

But with all honesty, if that were the case why do we have so many problems in the world? Why aren't we perfect already? Why do we struggle with traits and behaviour patterns that we don't like and know to be self-defeating? With or without any form of deity we strive to become better. This alone testifies that we are not quite "good" yet. So this argument by secular humanists and atheists are actually a fallacy.

Yes, we must continually make efforts, strive to be good and improve ourselves. And yes, many good things are achieved everyday of maids. But we are far from the ultimate perfection. We are also often misled by our own impulses, false information, misunderstandings and poor judgments.

This is where we fail and we need the good doctrine -- and the light. The light illuminates the path, shows the direction and also reveals our own issues.

Bring forth the gifts. (1:5:4)

2010-08-29T20:25:00.000-07:00

Those that were princesses among them brought their crowns to the sacred grove as gifts, and shepherdesses brought the new-dropped lambs, and all the daughters of the earth brought forth the fruits thereof to lay before the cave.

It is kind of interesting to read this verse in the light of what might happen under today's social and cultural norms. We who inhabit this modern age are so obsessed with what we can get out of anyone and anything. Then perhaps after we realize that we are getting our money's worth probably we may make a tax-deductible donation!

In this verse the first thing all these people have done was bring gifts -- their very best and "expensive" according to the definitions of their socioeconomic circumstances. Can you imagine this? We have become so materialistic, so self-centred and so consumeristic these days that we even think of such an action as being foolish and "irresponsible." After all, how do we know that this baby girl is even the authentic Daughter of Dea? There are too many scammers out there, we ought to be careful....

The authentic worship requires our giving of very best. It is not afterthought. It is not something we would only if we have some time left or something left over.

These are worth remembering even in this day and age.

The Great Commission. (3:2:17)

2010-08-26T00:01:00.000-07:00

Therefore go out among maids and teach them the good doctrine, for the time of this world is shorter than you suppose.

This verse could be said to be the Filianic equivalent of the Great Commission. Our mission is to go out and teach the sound doctrines enshrined in the Filianic Scriptures in this rather confusing age that has lost its connection to the eternal truth and tradition.

But what is the end purposes of the good doctrine? There is always a risk for being a fundamentalist who prioritizes the letters of doctrines over other matters. We are not here to worship the Scriptures. The good doctrine, however, should lead the maids to a sound understanding of the cosmos, with the sovereignty of Dea and the place that the Maid occupies in the grand scheme of things. Only through this, one discovers who she truly is and find her callings for life. Otherwise one can be aimless and spend the short life in confusion.

In preceding verses, the truth is linked closely to the love of Dea. The good doctrine is the doctrine of love.

Go out and teach this way of love.

Follow the Star. (1:5:3)

2010-08-25T00:01:00.000-07:00

And the star was seen all over the earth; and the children of the earth were filled with wonder, and they came to the place where the star stood in the sky.

Most readers will inevitably associate this verse with the Star of Bethlehem and the Magis.

What kind of star is this? Many modern astronomers have attempted to come up with scientific explanations -- asteroid, supernova, comet that nears the earth only every few thousands of years.

See this page for the meanings of this star.

Beyond being and non-being. (4:1:46)

2010-08-24T00:01:00.000-07:00

She that is the maker of being and of unbeing; She that is all that is and all that is not; a maid who knows Her in truth has left all worlds; in truth, she has left the body and the mind.

Even "unbeing" is brought into being by Dea, who is the Mistress of all things seen and unseen, being and unbeing. In other words, She is beyond all existences. Thus a maid who knows Her in truth is beyond the constraints of the being and non-being. This is the only way to "conquer" the world -- to be beyond existence, life and death -- and be in unity with the Eternal who is beyond time, space and matters.

The Gospel. (3:2:16)

2010-08-23T00:01:00.000-07:00

Yet this much may be told: that My Mother, who is light, has sent one light upon the world, and I am that light; and none shall find her soul except in the light.

People often point fingers at evangelical Christians saying they are bigoted and narrow-minded. It is true that they believe that Jesus actually said and meant "I am the way" and there is none else.

Beyond the surface, however, all this makes quite a sense. In Buddhist terminology, there are two paths to attaining salvation. One is through one's own strength, and the other through someone else's strength. The Pure Land sects that emerged during the early Middle Age simplified the essence of Buddhism into a simple chanting of the name of Amitabha Buddha, upon the premise that no ascetic practices or meditative disciplines would ever bring anyone to the perfection -- and even if they did it would take such a long time, but calling upon the name of the Buddha who attained perfection means one can avail oneself of that strength.

Finding our own soul using solely our own abilities is doomed to fail. How can one who is lost can find directions on her own, without having some external influence? Even if she did, that would be after a lengthy, aimless and wasteful beating around of the bushes. Life is short and not many people can make it to the level of perfection in their lifetimes. The scriptures present a better and simpler way.

When the Heaven meets the Earth. (1:5:2)

2010-08-22T00:01:00.000-07:00

And She entered the cave, and a star rose above the sacred grove that lay about the cave, brighter and more resplendent than all the stars of the heavens.

The cave is at the centre of the earth and represents the chththonic, the world of humans and the nature. As Mistress of All Worlds enters the depth of the cave, a bright star rose above the cave, representing the height and light of the heaven.

The birth of the Daughter of Dea implies the meeting of the heaven and the earth, of Dea and the maid, and of the spiritual and the physical. This is the place where no one knows where the earthly realm ends and the heavenly realm begins. This event is both celestial and earthly.

As the bright star rises above the cave, it illuminates the darkness of the space. The cave, a place devoid of natural light for years and years, receives a light that is as bright as a midday. Nothing compares to this light.

The heaven meets the earth.

The Daughter of Light arrives to the darkness of this world.

True Freedom. (4:1:45)

2010-08-20T00:01:00.000-07:00

She who has no beginning or any end; She who stood in the heart of chaos and made all things harmonious, She who bears the worlds within Her hand; a maid who knows Her is truly free.

Are you enslaved to a chaotic life?

The Eternal One, who stood in the heart of chaos and made all things harmonious, brings you freedom. She brings harmony amidst the chaos of this world.

Know the Eternal who stands above the ephemeral, unstable world is the source of harmony. Know Her and you will live free.

Mind Your Own Business. (3:2:15)

2010-08-19T00:01:00.000-07:00

Therefore pray in supplication for the divine light that you may make true examination of your heart; but do not pray for knowledge of another.

The Book of Common Prayer used in most Anglican churches around the world starts the Eucharistic service with this prayer: Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open, all desires are known, and from whom no secrets are hid: cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of thy Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love thee and worthily magnify thy holy name.

The prayer is in fact the opening of the medieval mystical book, Cloud of Unknowing.

Often we attempt to figure out what other people are thinking or going through. This is why psychics are popular in attempting at answering questions about interpersonal relationships (romance, work, etc.). They offer to "read" other people's minds and predict what others may do. Even in some circles of Christianity, especially among the Pentecostals and Charismatics, the idea that the Holy Spirit may give some people a "word of knowledge" is abused in the same way.

What we conveniently forget is our own hearts and our own problems. It is easier to point fingers at others and ignore our own reality and issues. Instead, we ought to pray that Dea will increase our understanding and knowledge of ourselves.

Sunzi (Sun-Tzu), one of the wisest writers in China's history, writes in the Art of War: If you know yourself and you know your enemies, then even a hundred battles shall not be perilous. (知己知彼，百戰不殆。)

Centre of the world. (1:5:1)

2010-08-18T00:01:00.000-07:00

And She walked across the seas and deep into the forests of the earth until She came upon the deep cave that was at the centre.

Literalists, influenced by materialism of modernity, often attempt to take mythological concepts literally. For example, fundamentalist Christians have attempted to locate the exact location of the Garden of Eden, even though it is completely irrelevant to the message of the creation story. The Garden of Eden represented the perfect unity with God, and it is also plausible that the whole earth was Eden. It misses the entire point of the story when one latches onto minor details and attempt to take them literally.

Undoubtedly, a statement in this verse can also evoke such reactions from literalists who may be out there to "discredit" the scriptures. How can a God that is greater than the universe "walk across the seas"? Isn't the whole idea of "centre of the earth" based on a primitive understanding that the earth is flat? These arguments miss the whole point.

Mirced Eliade, perhaps best known for his definitive work on the study of shamanism, writes: "The symbolism of the centre, with great consistency of meaning, applies to the centre of the universe, the centre of the residential unity, the centre of the village, the home, the ritual space, the human physiology mystically conceived, and the art of spiritual concentration. On every plane, the significance of the symbol of the centre of the world underlies the fact that at the heart of existence lies an experience and mode of being entirely different from the ordinary world centred on it." ("The currency of the centre in Eliade," Mircea Eliade's vision for a new humanism, Volume 1992, p. 141.) The centre of the world is where the world meets its vertical axis, like a wheel that spins around a straight axis. The centre is where the divine intersects with the natural, and where all motions are initiated. The imagery of a cave in the centre of the world also evokes the primordial womb from which life emanates. This is befitting in that this cave is where the Daughter of Dea is birthed.

Dea of all things and circumstances. (4:1:44)

2010-08-17T00:01:00.000-07:00

By these [choices wherewith acts of Dea are directed] She takes on unnumbered shapes, and numberless conditions She enters.

The act of creation is borne out of free-will choices. With numerous permutations of choices, creations take unlimited shapes and diversity of conditions. My life is not the same as yours, even though we may have grown up in a very similar condition, and though over 99 percent of our genetic maps may be nearly identical. This way Dea does not privilege one person over another. She does not favour one person because she lives closer to whatever one might think of as "Her sovereign will." Religions often have a tendency of dictating what constitutes the divine will for one's life, and condemn those who do not strictly adhere to that expectation. Even outside religious world, we try to keep up with the Joneses too often and judge others or our own selves for not living up to that standard.

Here Dea proclaims that She is the Mistress of All Things -- literally in the sense of that very phrase. She is the Mistress of oak trees, elm trees, pine trees and alder trees and all other trees and subspecies therein. She is the Mistress of every person and every thing in all the diversity. We do not have to be someone or something else that we are not in order to be approved by Dea.

Judge Not. Part Two. (3:2:14)

2010-08-16T21:53:00.000-07:00

You are not judges even of yourselves; for you see but a little further into the inwardness of your own being than into that of another; nay, often times not so far.

And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. — Matthew 5:36 NRSV

When I was in grade school, a teacher used to say "Be kind to others, be severe to yourself." Sometimes, especially in some cultures, the idea of "self-criticism" is equated with the virtue of humility. For example, languages such as Korean and Japanese (and to a lesser extent, Chinese) have grammars that makes self-deprecation a form of polite speech.

While being able to assess one's own weakness is an important skill that facilitates change and improvement, it becomes unhealthy when an excessive self-criticism turns into a form of projected self-masochism.

Taking the Japanese example, the master of tea ceremonies (and widely suspected Roman Catholic) Sen-no Rikyu has emphasized the concept of wabi and sabi. They are the antithesis of perfectionism, and yet it is at the same time acknowledgement that the nature (including ourselves) is never perfect, and yet there is a sense of beauty to appreciate amidst that imperfection, not despite but because of.

We are imperfect and on the path to the eternal perfection. To celebrate life is sometimes accept that imperfection -- acknowledge it, not just be in denial -- but not to beat ourselves up looking at unrealistic perfectionism as the standard.

Light from light, true God from true God. (1:4:7)

2010-08-15T15:29:00.000-07:00

For She had conceived a daughter that was not separate from Her, but one with Her, and the child of Her light.

Since the Roman Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity as his official state religion, Catholic and Anglican churches recite the Nicene Creed in the Holy Eucharist service every Sunday. The Nicene Creed was formulated as a political means to settle the dispute over the nascent doctrine of Trinity and the nature of Christ. It addresses the doctrine of Trinity in a more increased clarity than was said in the Apostles' Creed. In the Nicene Creed is the phrase,

"...God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being..."

Why was this so important? The Arians, in their rival opinion, Christ was merely a created being, whether or not he was supernatural, spiritual or physical. Like the Jehovah's Witnesses believe, he was kind of like an angel in spirit, while he lived as a merely created human form.

The theological importance of Trinity can be explained in a number of ways. In the Filianic Scriptures, the triune nature of Dea is that the Daughter of Dea is in perfect and complete unity with Her mother. Indeed, in this verse Dea conceives the One who is not separate from Her. This is important here, as the Daughter is to be a redeemer from the separation. The being who is never separated from Dea is the One who brings Dea's light to the end of the world to bring us back to that unseparated unity.

Directed at every moment. (4:1:43)

2010-08-13T00:01:00.000-07:00

According to the acts that She performs, and the choices wherewith they are directed;

Elsewhere in the Scriptures, it reads that the existence is a tapestry of webs. We do make choices at every moment; yet it is also the Creator Herself who creates and directs at every moment. Without Her guidance and creating spirit at every moment we cease to exist.

Judge Not. (3:2:13)

2010-08-12T00:01:00.000-07:00

Therefore do not set yourself as judges over any maid; for there is One alone who sees all things, and She alone has power to judge.

This verse follows the previous discussion on how we tend to overlook the matters beyond their surface material appearances. How many times do we judge "the book by its covers?" How many times have we made foolish mistakes because we lacked insights on what lies above, below and beyond what they appear to be?

This verse may ring familiar to those who are accustomed to the Christian Gospel narratives. Indeed the same message is told in the Gospels and also in the Epistles.

There is only one judge who can truly see all sides of the matter. We on the other hand can only make the best educated guess in good faith. Even when all evidences and facts are presented, we may not have the wisdom and ability to judge -- as we are often products of our own cultural conditioning, our own experiences and prejudices.

This is why the message is "judge not."

Front End. (3:2:11-12)

2010-08-09T09:12:00.000-07:00

And thus was Her reply: “Of no single maid shall you say anything, for it is given to you to see but the outward part, and in the outward part lies not the truth, but only in the inward being.

In traditionalist cosmology, the world is seen as a downward progression from spiritual to material. As the time passes by, the world becomes more consolidated and also the mental capacity of humans decrease. Often we hear of the great ancient civilizations with amazing architectural and scientific genius. We are also fascinated by the subtlety and complexity of ancient literature. Contrary to the modern notion of "progress" the reality is that even the languages we speak today are less sophisticated and greatly simplified when compared with the previous eras. Even then, it is also true that our language tends to be more confusing and convoluted in the midst of simplicity (it is much easier to read and understand books written in the 1940s, even though they may use more words).

It is remarkable to think of the achievements of the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, India and China especially when our achievements today are mostly aided by computers and telecommunications. It is also true that people then had an ability to memorize and recite an amazing amount of information and transmit it orally.

All this is over the head for us who live in a very materialistic world, which denies the reality beyond what can be seen and touched, and be empirically proven.

One of the most important landmarks in history of computer technology was the creation of Apple Macintosh. Unlike computers of the previous era, this computer required no programming skills or expertise in command-line entries. In fact it was so easy that even children could use simply by turning it on, pointing and clicking on "icons." About a decade later the mainstream world of business eagerly adopted Microsoft Windows 3.1 -- no more keystrokes to memorize to use WordPerfect or Lotus 1-2-3.

In computer technology jargons, they are called "front ends." The graphical user interface (GUI) is a metaphorical way to allow ordinary people to operate a computer without having to think about all the processes and commands under the hood. Instead of typing something like "rm -r /home/sarah/folder-1" I can simply open a file manager, then drag the picture of a Manila folder named "folder-1" into a "trash." Of course there is no Manila folders and no trash cans. But the operation is entirely metaphorical. In fact, as a Linux user I can even choose the "front ends" apart from the operating system as well (and this is a strongly emotional personal issues for many Linux users): there is GNOME, there is KDE, then there are LXDE and XFCE and Fluxbox. But those are all outward things, and the essential things about running the computer takes place where I cannot see, while the "front ends" perform all the commands automatically on my behalf.

Looking at occasional debates over which front ends are better, I am also reminded of the deeply personal and often ugly fights between religions. Throughout history people murdered in the name of God, over issues such as baptism, eucharist, the Bible and a line in a creed. We have a tendency to mistake the "outward part" with the truth too often. What is important to remind ourselves is that all things in this universe are only but reflections of the higher truth and the higher reality.

Then She rose up. (1:4:6)

2010-08-08T00:01:00.000-07:00

When the waters became calm again, the Mistress of All Things rose to Her feet:

Contemplation, envisioning, brainstorming and planning are all good. Having creative ideas, desires and faith are all good. But all is lost if you miss this last step.

She rose to Her feet.

It's time to get up on one's feet and take actions, standing upon the faith.

Or it is just empty ideas.

Wild card? (4:1:42)

2010-08-06T16:17:00.000-07:00

She has no form, no colour, no scent nor any savour; yet all things that She enters, She becomes.

Theologian and Roman Catholic-turned-Anglican priest Matthew Fox is one of the main proponent today of a theological concept called panentheism. In panentheism, one believes that the Creator resides in the creations and even experiences through creations. In a sense it is somewhat like incarnation, except that She is incarnated in all creations of the universe and the experiences of all creations are personally experienced and felt by the Creator (which gives a more personal feel to the ideas of omniscience and omnipresence as well).

In the Filianic Scriptures, the Creator is the primary cause of all things -- yet also She resides and experiences in our universe, since the day of very creation itself. She danced and ran around in pure delight, taking in the majesty and grandeur of the universe.

What does it mean by "all things She enters She becomes?"

While it is not the focus of the Scriptorium Filianicus to start a deep philosophical and ontological discussion, this verse also reminds us that She is present in all things and She experiences the world and you through those all things -- and you might even experience Dea in these creations.

Empty love. (3:2:10)

2010-08-06T10:42:00.000-07:00

Due to technical difficulties this devotional for Thursday, Aug. 5 was not uploaded in time. The computer problem persists intermittently and thus posting on the Scriptorium Filianics may be irregular until further notice.

And a maiden questioned the Daughter of light, saying: “What shall we say of she who has love of maids, but does not know Dea; shall she find her soul?”

Occasionally I come across people -- very well-meaning ones who often happen to be on the "progressive" side of the persuasion -- equate being a do-gooder with being spiritual. Some liberal-leaning religious organizations today have made social justice actions and advocacies substitutes for authentic spirituality (though they are important as well). There are people who work hard every day in our cities' charities, churches and political organizations in the name of social justice and still yet, something is amiss.

Without going into the other extreme (when I was in high school I left Fundamentalist Baptist church in no small part because on one Sunday the pastor went ballistic on the Salvation Army calling it demonic, finishing the tirade up with something like "the business of the Church is to preach the Gospel and win souls to Jesus, not to feed degenerate, unrepentant bums.") in order to live in a healthy and happy balance we need to have a good perspective. One can be easily burned out trying to love others without bringing Dea into the picture.

Born of the sea. (1:4:5)

2010-08-04T00:01:00.000-07:00

Then She fell to Her knees, and the surface of the waters became turbulent and the great waves curled over Her, and their white foam could not be seen in all that darkness.

In Greek and Roman mythology, Aphrodite and Venus respectively, the Goddess of love and beauty was said to have been born of a sea foam fertilized by Uranus. This is a later patriarchalized rendition of the original archetype of the sea-born Daughter of Dea. (On a related note, Irish Gaelic name Morgan and Welsh name Meredith also mean similarly, out of the sea.)

The turbulent water signifies the chaos, while the divine light that is contained within Dea Herself is held back so that the foam is still dark and could not be seen. The moment before the arrival of the light is often the darkest even though the light is present just around the corner.

The redemption and restoration of the world took place after a period of contained light -- a period of introspection, envisioning and incubating. If such is the case for the very Creator of the universe Herself, perhaps we also have to give new ideas a period of incubation -- even hidden in dark from the world out there -- and contemplate and pray over them before sending them out to the world. The visual imagery of the verse hints that the light was heavily concentrated and intense after a period of being contained. The light had the enough focus and concentration to give birth to a physical daughter in a material world.

Guest column: Speak prayers often.

2010-08-03T00:01:00.000-07:00

By Philemon

"Speak prayers often, speak them in the rhythm of your steps, and attune them to the beating of your heart." 3:1:23

Prayer can be the simplest and most direct way to leading a spiritual life. In prayer, we are combining two spiritual paths: we are practicing devotion to Dea and we are practicing meditation. Devotional religion emphasizes love for Dea above all. Love is the Divine power that sustains all creation. In devotional prayer a maid participates in Dea's universal love by turning her mind lovingly to She who is the source of all love.

Prayer is also meditation. By contemplating Our Mother's love, the distractions of the mundane world are stilled. As the mind is stilled, it becomes receptive to Dea's grace and the noise, fears and desires that fill the worldly mind are calmed, The mind is filled instead with a growing sense of peace and joy.

In the verse above from the Teachings of the Daughter, Anna is teaching us that state of prayer can become continuous with practice. We can begin with prayer at set hours of the day, but prayer can grow to being as steady as the beating of our heart and the rhythm of our steps. Continuous prayer often takes the form of the mental recitation of a mantra, such as Ave Maria, invoking one of the holy names of Dea. Through mental salutation of Dea, a maid can go about her daily work while always remembering She who is the center of all things.

Copyright © 2010/3300 by author.

Is the truth with you? (3:2:9)

2010-08-02T00:01:00.000-07:00

And unless the truth is with her, how shall anyone find her soul?

This verse also finds its parallel in the First Epistle of John, chapter 1:

If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true; but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. (1 John 1:6-8, NRSV)

In John it is the light, while in the Filianic text today it is the love. As we see, life, light and love are one. In today's verse, the question is whether one can have a love without love of Dea. Is there such thing as a secular, atheist love. The answer is no. Without the source of love one can emulate and imitate love-like actions but it is not possible to love authentically. It makes a lot of sense, especially in today's secular humanist society, "love" became a sort of possessiveness, interpersonal entanglement involving control, codependence, manipulation and give-and-take deals.

(4:1:4)

2010-08-01T00:01:00.000-07:00

She became absorbed within Her and communed with Her own self; and Her light ceased to shine forth from Her, and yet Her light grew greater.

The power of the infinitesimals. (4:1:41)

2010-07-30T14:49:00.000-07:00

Think that She is but a part of the hundredth part of hair’s tip, divided one hundred times. Yet She is like to all the manifest world.

Some of the greatest achievements in human history come from small ideas, thought up rather serendipitously and doodled on a loose sheet of paper. While corporations pay thousands of dollars on think-tanks and focus groups, and governments spending millions on research grants and institutes, often times the best inventions and most important discoveries come just like a spark of idea out of blue.

Where does such an idea come from?

The very creation of this vast universe comes from a thought that is too small to be measured. One could think of thoughts as a piece of information, or electromagnetic waves, but either way they are not even quantifiable.

Yet She is like to all the manifest world.

The smallest is greater than the sum of the biggest (4:1:41)

2010-07-27T00:01:00.000-07:00

Think that She is but a part of the hundredth part of hair’s tip, divided one hundred times. Yet She is like to all the manifest world.

Puta que Illa es nil preter un parte del centesime del puncta de un capillo, essente partite in un cento. Mais Illa es como le tote del mundo manifeste.

When is the smallest bigger than the total sum of all the big things combined? It is the idea, the visions, that contain all these things and lead to even more creations and manifestations. In the realm of the divine, a linear thinking keeps one from understanding the divine economy. The last shall be the first, and the first the last, proclaims the Christian Gospels. Those who are the least shall be exalted to the prominence.

Such is the cosmology of the Filianic Scriptures -- and all the traditional worldview. The thoughts are powerful beyond all things, just like the thoughts of Dea brought forth all the magnificence of creation.

The foundational love. (3:2:8)

2010-07-26T00:01:00.000-07:00

But the love of maids is not the love of Dea, and those who say so are the prisoners of a lie, for the truth is not with them.

Mais le amor del filias non es le amor de Dea, e le ones qui dice talmente son le prisioneros de un mentita, que le veritate non es con illas.

Love in these days is hard to come by, but everyone seems to at least try to be loving and to be loved. Some people, especially hippies, claim that they love everyone. Along with the effects of the Eclipse came the predominance of secular humanism. Secular humanists focus solely on the horizontal cosmology and deny the vertical axis, though humans as axial beings between the heaven and earth necessarily live at the juncture of both horizontal and vertical.

Thus what defines maid is her Axial nature. He other qualities, such as her intelligence, her power of speech and her ability to fashion tools are all functions, or consequences, of her Axiality. Maid as the Axial being mediates between the Spirit on the one had and the world on the other. It is for this reason that maid is termed "lunar", because, like the moon, she mediates between the light of the Spirit and the darkness of the material world.

Thus the nature of maid is always to some extent "priestly". It is also regal, which is why maid is sometimes termed "the Princess Regent" - she who rules the world in the Name of - and as the surrogate of - Dea.

-- The Encyclopaedia Aristasiana.

Love is a quality that belongs to the Divine. As such there is no such thing as genuine love without the vertical dimension.

She who broods over the water. (1:4:3)

2010-07-25T00:01:00.000-07:00

And She stood in contemplation upon the waters of the first darkness; like a great dove upon the waters She brooded.

E Illa stava in contemplation supra le aguas del prime obscuritate; como un grande columbin supra le aguas Illa covava.

Quiet, and comforting. The imagery of a dove brooding over the earth, as though it is her egg, has long evoked a feeling of profound peace, serenity and comfort. This imagery is also found in the Hebrew scripture of Genesis. Christians have long used the dove as a symbol of the Holy Spirit, who presided over the acts of creation even as the word of God was spoken to bring matters out of nothing.

Water is a symbol of chaos, as well as life. It points to the unpredictability of life, as well as the ever shifting and moving nature of the material world. It is interesting to note that water is a life-sustaining necessity, while also water claims hundreds of lives every year, whether it is from floods or from human-related accidents.

Over the water of chaos and turmoil, however, is the brooding presence of the Spirit, as though She is protecting this volatile and new life form that is earth. Indeed, in the grand scheme of things, the earth is relatively new in the eyes of the eternity.

Where all manifestations begin. (4:1:40)

2010-07-23T02:26:00.000-07:00

But when knowing and being are all of Her workings, then She is like to another, no greater than the point of a needle.

Ma quando le sapente e le essente son tote de Su operas, alora Illa es como un altere, non plus grande que le puncto de un agulia.

All material objects originate from thoughts. Recent developments in quantum physics theorize that most of the manifest physical universe is indeed empty spaces, and it is pieces of information that are holding subatomic particles together. The starting point for all created beings come from the existence of Dea and Her thoughts. She created all things seen and unseen from Her divine ideas that reflect Her own splendour.

Likewise, many great inventions and epoch-making events in the human world come from our beings and thoughts. Those are not easily quantifiable; indeed, they all start as small as a needle point. Everything must have a beginning, and the beginning -- the motion from zero to the smallest first step -- is small and seemingly insignificant to observers. But we do manifest out of smallest of thoughts and words. This can be both a good news and a bad news.

Source of All Love. (3:2:6)

2010-07-01T00:01:00.000-07:00

But before and beyond the love of maids there lies the love of Dea; for She is the source and fountain of all love.

As much as one may try, there is no such thing as a true atheist or secular love. Love cannot achieve its fullness without accessing the love-that-is-greater-than-our-total-sum, the transcendent love that is above and beyond our self-interests. Love, if it requires a frame of reference, must necessarily originate in something much greater than our "primal" needs for self-preservation and self-protection. This is why love without a spiritual dimension, love that does not account for the eternal, love that is merely an interpersonal transaction of give-and-take, is vain and is doomed to fail sooner or later.

In this we also acknowledge our imperfection in loving. It is not easy to be a loving person, precisely because we are often too absorbed in our own self-interests and fears that surround us like a fortress. It takes efforts, determination and courage to get out of that, and this is where our little self-interest ends and the divine dimension of love begins.

---
Scriptural quotes and verse numbering from The Filianic Scriptures: New Celestial Union Version, Revised Second Edition. Scriptural text used under Creative Commons Public License, 3.0-by-nc-sa; le traduction angloromanece del versetto del Scriptura Filianic per Sarah Morrigan, © 3330/2010, CCPL 3.0-by-nc-nd; Devotional text by Sarah Morrigan, © 2010/3330, CCPL 3.0-by-nc-nd.

Abyss and the Bridge to Life. (1:4:2)

2010-06-30T20:27:00.000-07:00

For a terrible abyss had opened to lie between the world and She, and Her creatures could not look upon Her brightness.

Here we see the message very familiar to evangelical Protestant Christians. Probably you have seen an illustration called "Bridge to Life" originally created by the Navpress (formerly the International Navigators). Like the Christian scriptures, the Filianic Scriptures also tell the story of the fall, subsequent separation from God, and a way of redemption. The truth is that such a narrative is common across cultures and in different traditional mythologies, even though details may differ and told in various languages.

This verse also recalls a scene in the Hebrew book of Exodus, in which God hides Moses in (oddly enough) an abyss between rocks as God passes by so that he could see a glimpse of God's glory from behind, lest he would be struck dead, as no one could live if they saw God's glory face to face.

Ultimate destiny of the humankind, however, is the re-union with Dea, in which we may once again dwell in the fullness of Her glory.

---
Scriptural quotes and verse numbering from The Filianic Scriptures: New Celestial Union Version, Revised Second Edition. Scriptural text used under Creative Commons Public License, 3.0-by-nc-sa; le traduction angloromanece del versetto del Scriptura Filianic per Sarah Morrigan, © 3330/2010, CCPL 3.0-by-nc-nd; Devotional text by Sarah Morrigan, © 2010/3330, CCPL 3.0-by-nc-nd.

Power of Determination. (4:1:39)

2010-06-29T20:13:00.000-07:00

Like to the size of a maiden’s thumb She is, and radiant as the sun, when thought and will have harbour in Her bosom.

What comes in the size of a thumb and radiant as the sun? During the mid-20th century, scientists have discovered nuclear power. Energy of such radioactive substances was so concentrated that it could cause a major global catastrophe. During the 1980s we lived under the fear of nuclear attacks, and a predicted scenario of the "nuclear winter" following a massive atomic blast.

The nuclear energy was intended to somehow replicate the process of the sun to generate light and heat. When it was in its proper place, it is life-giving; indeed, our lives depend on it. When it was mimicked for a wrong reason (originally, to defeat Japan in World War II, then to defeat the Soviet Union during Cold War) the artificial emulation of the life-giving natural process became the deadliest weapon the humankind has ever possessed.

Concentrated energy is at the core of the nuclear reaction. Likewise, the scriptures tell us, that when one's thought and will are in Dea's bosom, we have such an amazing strength and drive to achieve anything. Note that there are three elements to greatness: first, thought; second, will; and third, both thought and will in Her bosom. One cannot just achieve anything with mere thoughts or ideas. They must be accompanied by will. Then even thought and will cannot achieve greatness, unless they are together in unity with the divine heart of Dea (and by implication Her will and Her protection).

Next time when you undertake some project or envision something, keep this in mind -- and you will have a power greater than the sun to get it done.

---
Scriptural quotes and verse numbering from The Filianic Scriptures: New Celestial Union Version, Revised Second Edition. Scriptural text used under Creative Commons Public License, 3.0-by-nc-sa; le traduction angloromanece del versetto del Scriptura Filianic per Sarah Morrigan, © 3330/2010, CCPL 3.0-by-nc-nd; Devotional text by Sarah Morrigan, © 2010/3330, CCPL 3.0-by-nc-nd.

And Start Over Again. (1:4:1)

2010-06-27T00:01:00.000-07:00

When the first night had come upon the world, the Mistress of All Things stood alone once more, as She had in the beginning.

Quando le prime nocte habeva venite super le mundo, le Domina del Tote Cosas stava sol de nove, como Illa habeva in le initio.

Back to the square one. Did the Perfection fail? The scene here depicts someone who appears to have failed, caught off-guard by unexpected development of events. Often people who are agnostic or sceptical look at the fall of the humankind and reason that the Perfection cannot create something that fails; and thus God does not exist.

Let us for a moment take a different look on this. It really does not take a creativity to manufacture defect-free products; indeed, today computer-controlled robots -- though devoid of creativity and free-will -- manufacture many things we have come to rely on, such as aircrafts, automobiles, medical equipment, computers, cell phones... and they do probably a better job at precision and reduction of manufacture defects than do human hands. But those machines cannot create on their own, and must first be programmed by the intelligent minds.

Often the arguments presented by the modern (Newtonian-influenced) rationalists assume that the creation is like a manufacturing process. Thus, the "perfect" God would manufacture millions of defect-free objects that work impeccably and perform well. It seems though, at the very least in the Filianic Scriptures, She did not establish a cosmic factory to mass-manufacture perfect automatons. She rather created out of her pure delight that could not be contained unless she created something. The "process" of creation then was more akin to a cosmic dance of a happy girl than to a cosmic factory city of a cosmic industrial mogul. Only in recent years that the natural science is barely beginning to understand that certain things in the quantum physics are not as predictable or "perfect" as one would have thought them to be under the Newtonian/rationalist cosmology.

In any case, the Perfection is also the Eternal; to Her time is not an irreversible linear progression. She thus can create and indeed creates again.

---
Scriptural quotes and verse numbering from The Filianic Scriptures: New Celestial Union Version, Revised Second Edition. Scriptural text used under Creative Commons Public License, 3.0-by-nc-sa; le traduction angloromanece del versetto del Scriptura Filianic per Sarah Morrigan, © 3330/2010, CCPL 3.0-by-nc-nd; Devotional text by Sarah Morrigan, © 2010/3330, CCPL 3.0-by-nc-nd.

The Road Winds According to Her Works. (4:1:38)

2010-06-25T00:01:00.000-07:00

Three paths She follows, and Her road winds according to Her works.

Illa seque tres sentieros, e Su cammino se bobina conforme a Su obras.

What does this mean? The three paths, that of wisdom, folly and the one beyond the two -- the great mystery, just like the Dea beyond forms -- She follows, and Her road winds according to Her works. It is interesting to note that the works do not follow Dea, but curiously, She follows the works of Hers.

There have been many debates and philosophical speculations about theodicy, free will and the nature of the divine will. Why wouldn't everything follow God's perfect will if God is perfect and infallible? Here the verse shows that Her creation really is not just a single-sided one but rather is an interactive process. It helps to understand this when we keep in mind that She did not "have to" create in order to meet Her needs. She rather created out of Her overflowing joy and delight. Artists often are familiar with products of serendipitous coincidences that are not originally intended or envisioned. They know that those are often the most interesting part of their artistic works.

Theologian Gregory A. Boyd, in his book God of the Possible, explores the concept of what many have later come to call an open theism. In it, Boyd argues that the idea of an impersonal, unchanging God that micromanages all things is not a product of a biblical cosmology but is a Greek influence, and that a world populated with free-will agents is necessarily open to changes that are not strictly controlled by God, even though ultimately the divine will triumphs over the evil (and this explains the long duration of time required for redemption).

Think for a moment that She, the very Creator of all things, follows where we go -- even if we are misguided and going on our own ways.

Servant of All. (3:2:5)

2010-06-24T00:01:00.000-07:00

Be the servant of every maid, ranking neither yourself above the lowest, nor for the highest, lest ungentleness or envy touch your soul.

Sia le servitor de omne filia, te reputa ni supra le minus ni como le plus, de pavor que le inamabilitate o invidia tastarea tu anima.

This verse is one of the familiar-sounding ones for anyone with a passing familiarity with the New Testament. At the core of Filianic priesthood is that a priest is a servant not only of Dea but also of all creatures. How can one be a servant of every maid, while not being a proverbial doormat? How can she not lose sight of the high callings and the truth of what it means to be a "maid" -- the one with power to choose, in the very image of Dea Herself, endowed with dignity? Being a servant is about humility. The word humility comes from the Latin word for "soil" or "ground" (humus). It is about being down-to-earth, instead of mentally floating above in a proverbial and hypothetical cloud of religiosity and theories. It is not about, however, kissing everyone's behind or forms of self-degradation. The verse here says, "neither above the lowest nor for the highest"; in other words, do not try to be anything higher or lower than who you are. This is the point of departure for all our callings for a life of service.

First Tears. (1:3:9)

2010-06-23T09:46:00.000-07:00

And the first daughter of creation fell to her knees and wept. These were the first tears shed upon the whole of the earth.

E le prime filia del creation labeva a su geniculos e lacrimava. Illos era le prime lacrimas super tote le terra.

In the Christian scriptures, the Book of Revelation ends with a scene in which the world is restored to its wholeness and God would "wipe every tear from [people's] eyes." (Revelation 21:4) While the Bible does not quite mention when tears were first shed, it is presented alongside with death, mourning and pain in this verse.

Aside from some atheists trying to distract us from the real subject matter by claiming whether humans had dry eyes and how impossible physiologically that might be, the idea is not so much about the physical phenomenon of tears but the meanings and symbolism behind them. Generally speaking tears are associated with negative things, loss and pain.

What would it be when the first daughter of creation, who knew no life outside the holy presence of Dea, would lose that one day? A near-complete separation from the source of life, love and light, all that represented the wholeness and goodness?

But even more importantly, after thousands and perhaps millions of years, we no longer mourn -- or feel anything amiss about -- the lack of the divine presence in our lives. What was the cause of the first tears on earth has become the "norm" and nothing unusual. Often times it is a sign of a greater problem when one does not realize the existence of problem itself, but rather sees it as normal or even desirable. Those who are in the field of recovery from addictions can testify, that only change can happen when one admits that the problem exists and one is not in control over it (which, of course, is the first step of the very well-known 13 steps of the Alcoholics Anonymous and other similar groups).

Finding Dea Everywhere. (4:1:37)

2010-06-18T00:01:00.000-07:00

She assumes all shapes, in every form and likeness; for She is of three strains commingled.

Illa assume tote formas, in omne forma e similitude; proque Illa es de tres tracias confundite.

There She is. Can you see Her? She looks like a tree. She looks like a bird. She looks like a cloud.

You are surrounded. Immersed. You live, move and have your being, in Her.

Tall Order. (3:2:4)

2010-06-17T00:01:00.000-07:00

Practice no revenge, but only offer love to them that harm you; and those that would take from you, give to them freely.

Practica necun vindicantia, mais solmente offere le amor pro illos qui face mal a vos, e illos qui predarea de vos, da les liberalmente.

Most Westerners find this verse very familiar. It is also found in the Christian Gospel of St. Matthew. This is not about intentionally becoming a "door mat," but is about our misdirected sense of "justice." We tend to think of justice as "getting even," in other words, a retribution. From a little tiff around an office water cooler, to a schoolyard fight, to the national criminal justice system and to the international realpolitik, this base instinct manifests in many ways, yet under this common theme of "getting even." Mohandus K. Gandhi said it rather aptly, "an eye for an eye until everyone is blind."

A real justice is centred around a restoration of harmony and divine order. It is not about scoring a point against one's opponent, but is about creating an environment in which people can be good and peaceful. Perpetuating an evil for the sake of getting even with someone else's evil deeds does not create a safer community, but leads to a war zone.

Hidden, But Never Gone. (1:3:8)

2010-06-16T00:01:00.000-07:00

Then the Mistress of All Things withdrew Herself into the sky, until She seemed but a slender crescent of light.

Alora, le Domina del Tote Cosas Se retirava in le celo, usque Illa semblava como un crescente tenua de lumine.

---
Scriptural quotes and verse numbering from The Filianic Scriptures: New Celestial Union Version, Revised Second Edition. Scriptural text used under Creative Commons Public License, 3.0-by-nc-sa; le traduction angloromanece del versetto del Scriptura Filianic per Sarah Morrigan, © 3330/2010, CCPL 3.0-by-nc-nd; Devotional text by Sarah Morrigan, © 2010/3330, CCPL 3.0-by-nc-nd.

Fruits of One's Labour. (4:1:36)

2010-06-15T00:01:00.000-07:00

But she who takes the colours upon her, who works the soil and also eats the grain. She partakes of the fruits of her working.

Mais illa qui prende le colores super la, qui labora le solo e anque mangia le grano. Illa prende le fructos de su labores.

"She" here refers to a human being, the daughter of the earth. In the context of this passage she is compared with the Creator. It is part of the divine will for us to enjoy the fruits of our work. This is also why any form of injustice that deprives workers of their fruits of their labour is not only unacceptable but also contrary to the nature and to the divine law.

---
Scriptural quotes and verse numbering from The Filianic Scriptures: New Celestial Union Version, Revised Second Edition. Scriptural text used under Creative Commons Public License, 3.0-by-nc-sa; le traduction angloromanece del versetto del Scriptura Filianic per Sarah Morrigan, © 3330/2010, CCPL 3.0-by-nc-nd; Devotional text by Sarah Morrigan, © 2010/3330, CCPL 3.0-by-nc-nd. Photograph: Japanese-Americans working in farm at the Manzana Relocation Center, California, circa 1940s. Wikimedia Commons.

Mindset of Success. (3:2:3)

2010-06-14T00:01:00.000-07:00

Seek excellence, but seek nor praise nor honour nor reward.

Cerca le excellentia, mais cerca ni laudationes ni honor ni recompensa.

Faithful Promises. (1:3:7)

2010-06-13T00:01:00.000-07:00

“I shall not live as close to you as before, but still I shall pour blessings upon you, and you may give Me gifts; not in every moment as before, for you have learned to tire, but My light shall give you signs in this matter.”

"Io non habitara apud te como Io habeva, ma totevia Io effundera Mi benedictiones a te, e te pote Me dar donos; non in omne momento como le antea, proque te ha apprendite te fatigar, ma Mi lumine te dara augurios in iste affaire."

The presence of Dea is seemingly diminished in this age. We feel as though we live so far away, if any, from Dea, even giving birth to agnosticism and atheism. No one questions the existence of gravity or oxygen, yet enough people question the existence of the One who created them all. Often I feel a bit of frustration that even when spiritually and emotionally I am eager and enthused, physically I face the limitation. It almost seems impossible to live unto Dea at every moment.

Such desire for the presence of Dea is natural. It is part of our collective past memory.

But we do not need to be perfectionists. Only She is the Perfection and we are on our long path back to that Perfection. In the mean time, make every moment a gift to Dea's glory.

She still pours out Her blessings, in spite of all the limitations.

---
Scriptural quotes and verse numbering from The Filianic Scriptures: New Celestial Union Version, Revised Second Edition. Scriptural text used under Creative Commons Public License, 3.0-by-nc-sa; le traduction angloromanece del versetto del Scriptura Filianic per Sarah Morrigan, © 3330/2010, CCPL 3.0-by-nc-nd; Devotional text by Sarah Morrigan, © 2010/3330, CCPL 3.0-by-nc-nd.

Flower and its seed. (4:1:35)

2010-06-11T00:01:00.000-07:00

She that unfolds all things like to a rose from the seed of Her being; She that nurtures each thing that has fullness in it to its fullness; She who scatters the colours, it is She who governs the world.

Illa qui displica le tote cosas como un rosa del grana de Su esser; Illa qui alimenta omne cosa que ha le plenitude in illo a su plenitude. Illa qui dispersa le colores, es Illa qui governa le mundo.

May All Dea's Creations Win. (3:2:2)

2010-06-09T23:45:00.000-07:00

Do not seek advantage over other creatures, but let you be indifferent as to whose is the advantage.

Non quere le avantage super le altere creaturas, ma te lassa esser indifferente de qui es le avantage.

Competition can be a healthy motivator for people to improve themselves and discipline themselves. The problem inherent in competitiveness, however, is that when it becomes a matter of "defeating the opponents" then it no longer is about self-improvement but is about vengeance and hostility.

The Filianic Scriptures do not explicitly say competition is evil, but it does say "whose is the advantage" is not one's primary -- or even secondary -- concern. Seek excellence, reads the immediately following verse. To win a competition honourably, one must look within and discipline oneself while constantly improving upon one's own skills. A good competition is not about scheming how to trap the other contestants, or to take advantage of the others' weaknesses.

From time to time, anecdotes of Olympic athletes who could have win a gold medal but did not because they chose to assist their fellow athletes who were injured or got into an accident. Their stories are remembered for a long time as memories of great sportsmanship. On the other hand, those who do everything -- including unethical or even outright illegal means -- to win (remember Ben Johnson, Tonya Harding?) remain infamous for decades to come, but their names are usually uttered with derisions and loathing.

How do you win today? How do you win life?

-
Scriptural quotes and verse numbering from The Filianic Scriptures: New Celestial Union Version, Revised Second Edition. Scriptural text used under Creative Commons Public License, 3.0-by-nc-sa; le traduction angloromanece del versetto del Scriptura Filianic per Sarah Morrigan, © 3330/2010, CCPL 3.0-by-nc-nd; Devotional text by Sarah Morrigan, © 2010/3330, CCPL 3.0-by-nc-nd.

Announcement: The Revised Second Edition released

2010-06-09T23:40:00.000-07:00

The improved and expanded second edition of the Filianic Scriptures, New Celestial Union Version was released today.

http://filianicscripturesncuv.wikispaces.com

In All Directions. (4:1:34)

2010-06-04T00:01:00.000-07:00

And even as the splendid sun, singing aloud in her brightness, shines unto the heights and to the depths and all the four directions, so She governs all that have come to birth.

E como le sol splendide, cantante in alte voce in su brilliantia, se irradia al culmine e al profundo e al tote quatro directiones, Illa governa omne que ha venite al nascence.

The symbol of the Filianic faith is the fora (or the "Celtic Cross"). It is one of the most ancient ideograph that comes from a depiction of the sun, but it is also a profound illustration of the traditional cosmology. At the centre of the fora is a circle, symbolizing the very centre of the universe and the world pillar. From the centre emanates two lines, the vertical axis and the horizontal axis, symbolizing the four directions (and the circle is also a symbol of the fifth direction, the spiritual).

Like the sunlight radiates in all directions, Dea reigns in all places. In a sense She is not "up there" but is in the middle of them all. She is the centre of the universe and the prime cause of all things seen and unseen. Like the sunlight, it is universal -- it does not favour or privilege one group of people or one country over the others. Like the sunlight, Her glory is seen by all and is essentially necessary for the sustenance of life.

This is why the sun is a symbol of Dea, and ancient people worshipped the sun deities above all. Even if our life today may seem to be in the dark, the sun will rise again; and the ills of the world shall pass away, even as the terrors of the night, and the dawn shall be bright with splendour and sweet with the singing of the blessed souls, and She shall be our comfort in the darkness. (cf. 3:3:5-7.)

--
Scriptural quotes and verse numbering from the New Celestial Union Version of the Filianic Scriptures. Scriptural text used under Creative Commons Public License, 3.0-by-nc-sa; Interlingua translation by Sarah Morrigan, © 3330/2010, CCPL 3.0-by-nc-nd; Devotional text by Sarah Morrigan, © 2010/3330, CCPL 3.0-by-nc-nd.

The Light of the World. (3:2:1)

2010-06-03T08:26:00.000-07:00

I am sent by My Mother to bring you a light, that you may find your souls before the darkness comes.

Io es expedite per Mi Matre pro vos apportar le lumine, que vos poterea trovar vostre animas ante le obscuritate venera.

Today we enter the new scripture, widely referred to as "The Light." It is a Filianic text, since the Daughter (filia) of Dea speaks in a first-person pronoun.

The "I" here is the Daughter of Dea, known variedly as Ana, Inanna, Rhianne, etc. In later patriarchal cultures this has been adapted into stories of Jesus Christ, Krishna, and so on, but the underlying story is the same -- as as mythologist Joseph Campbell's famous saying goes, it's "the same story told over and over."

She is the light-bringer. But what does it mean that "before the darkness comes"? Aren't we already in enough "darkness"?

No one knows tomorrow. It may or may not happen as we schedule it. The deep discussions on theology aside, this verse evokes a sense of urgency, and call for proactive decisions on our side. If there is a day for us to turn to the Perfection, it is today, not tomorrow or whenever there may be a disaster or misfortune.

It's Under Our Feet. (1:3:6)

2010-06-02T00:01:00.000-07:00

"The snake shall keep the form that you have given it, and you shall be set in governance over it; but remember that it will ever attempt to beguile and destroy you as it has this night."

"Le serpente se tenera le forma que te ha lo date, e te essera assignate pro le governar; mais rememora que illo unquam tentara a te captar e vincer, como illo ha iste nocte."

When the troubles overwhelm you, remember that the snake -- the evil spirit -- is under your feet, and you have the authority of governance over it, not the other way around. But also be vigilant as it will ever try to deceive and destroy you. Like good Pentecostal preachers would say, the devil's under our feet. But also keep in mind that the "demons ever wait."

The Golden Chain. (4:1:33)

2010-06-01T00:01:00.000-07:00

All the holy teachers are Her servants; the craftmaids are created by Her craft. She governs all, and all She will ingather when the worlds are rolled up like a parchment scroll.

Tote le maestros sacre son Su servitores; le artisanas son create per Su mestiero. Illa governa le tote, e le tote Illa recoltara quando le mundos son recoltate como un pergamena.

Perennial traditionalists believe that all legitimate religious traditions, be it Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism or others, carry certain elements of the primordial spiritual traditions that come from the beginning of the world, in a manner not unlike a chain of succession. While many aspects of religions have undergone changes and adaptations as they negotiate varying and changing cultural contexts and temporal realities, one finds many commonalities between the faiths under the surface, and they are valid and applicable regardless of what your religious faith may be.

It is interesting to note how the verse lists the holy teachers and craftmaids (artisans) in a single sentence. In many ways there are parallels between these professions. Great art and skilled craft are also inspiring and illustrate the eternal truth. Where holy teachers show by deeds, thoughts and words, the artisans show by images, symbols and shapes.

--
Scriptural quotes and verse numbering from the New Celestial Union Version of the Filianic Scriptures. Scriptural text used under Creative Commons Public License, 3.0-by-nc-sa; Interlingua translation by Sarah Morrigan, © 3330/2010, CCPL 3.0-by-nc-nd; Devotional text by Sarah Morrigan, © 2010/3330, CCPL 3.0-by-nc-nd.

Finding Dea in All Things. (3:1:37)

2010-05-31T09:37:00.000-07:00

Break in two an apple seed and seek to find the tree that shall grow from it. You shall find nothing. Yet the essence of the tree is in the seed. Even so am I in all things.

Finde in duo un grano del pomo e cerca a trovar le arbore que arborescera de lo. Vos trovara nihil. Mais le essentia del arbore es in le grano. Mesmo Io es in tote cosas.

It is not in vain reasons that Dea is referred to as the "Mistress of All Things." Not only that She creates and reigns over all things, She is present in all things. Find Dea in every object you see. There is a spark of Her Spirit within all things, just as all creations are fragments of Her divinity. The realization that the very essence of Dea's presence is in all things, even before the manifestation of each creation, is profound. Like Elijah the prophet, we often try to seek the Holy in some supernatural, enormous (e+norm; out of the norm) incidents. But more often than so, we find the presence of Dea through Her creation.

Ponder, even further, that the very essence of who Dea is -- like the essence of an apple tree in a seed -- is present in each and every creation. What are the implications of this truth in your life today?

--
Scriptural quotes and verse numbering from the New Celestial Union Version of the Filianic Scriptures. Scriptural text used under Creative Commons Public License, 3.0-by-nc-sa; Interlingua translation by Sarah Morrigan, © 3330/2010, CCPL 3.0-by-nc-nd; Devotional text by Sarah Morrigan, © 2010/3330, CCPL 3.0-by-nc-nd.

The Story of Silver Moon. (1:3:5)

2010-05-30T00:01:00.000-07:00

"By this I shall govern the movements of the waters, that the earth may never again be flooded; and when you look upon this light, you will remember the time when all things were silver."

"Con isto Io governara le movimentos del aquas, que le terra sera nunquam inundate; e quando tu reguarda iste lumine, tu rememorara le tempore quando le tote cosas era argentee."

For a planet's satellite, our moon is either too close or too large, according to the general ideas among astronomers. The gravity of the moon affects our planet's geology, hydrology and ecology in profound ways. It governs the movement of oceanic waters, and we tell days and weeks by its phases.

Since I was a child, and still to this day am, fascinated by the view of the moon especially on the full moon. It is sometimes so bright that I could take a walk in the woods.

This world is kind of like a room with lots of mirrors. The moon reflects the solar light, which in turn is a reflection of its creator. In the grand scheme of things, our sun is relatively smaller and less brighter than some of the other stars in the physical universe in which we exist. Likewise, in the traditional cosmology, our mind is like a moon, whereas our heart is the sun. The mind is a reflection of what is deeper essence of who we are, which, in turn, is also the reflection of our creator.

In the Filianic Scriptures, Dea has given us Her Daughter to act like a reflection of the fullness of Her glory, as we in our imperfect and fallen state cannot behold the glory. In this sense the Daughter is the mediator between the maid and Dea the Mother; even then, the latter is also a more "manifested" reflection of the Great, Illimitable Spirit who is beyond and above the form.

The moon also reminds us that even in the midst of darkness, the light overcomes the dark; yet it is precisely because of the darkness we can see the moonlight.

Eternity and Eschatology. (4:1:32)

2010-05-25T00:01:00.000-07:00

These She will draw together when their time is come.

In the materialistic cosmology the biggest misconception about eternity is that things would exactly stay the same, or lest would endlessly expand like a runaway train. A certain religious sect that arose in the midst of the industrial expansion in American history teaches that one would not to go to "heaven" for being a faithful; but rather one would live forever on the paradise on earth, thanks to the endless renewal of cells.

Death, or ending, like darkness is often very misunderstood in the very linear thinking of the modern worldview. It seems as though it is bad to end something, as if ending something is a sign of failure. Continuous, nonstop expansion is extolled as a sign of one's victory over mortality. The logical extension of this belief has led also to the widespread devastation on this planet's environment and ecology due to the centuries of unsustainable growth and development.

I suppose the reason why people cannot accept the end is that they are not certain of the beginning that follows it. In the linear, rather than circular or spherical, cosmology the end means just that -- nothing is left. In the traditional, pre-modern, worldview the history is cyclical. Hence eternity is implied in every end of an epoch.

Where to find God (3:1:36)

2010-05-24T15:19:00.000-07:00

You have stripped away layer after layer of the world to search for Me, and have found nothing at the centre; but I was between each layer and every other.

Often called mysterious and hard to define, photon is a particle of energy contained within light and causes movement of molecules in the matters through which light penetrates. Photon has no “rest mass”1 and yet has energy just like other particles (and yet energy and mass are normally related, hence the difficulty in explaining photon). It is instrumental in the process of photosynthesis to generate oxygen from carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and also starch (carbohydrate) as part of this chemical change.

The mystery of photon’s nature and how it affects the energy movement of materials the light touches is a reflection of the higher truth in the spiritual realm (4:3:45). The light is non-physical and not manifest in the sense that it possesses no rest mass, but only in a relative sense. It travels at the highest possible speed in the universe, surpassed by none. In comparison with the Filianic Scriptures’ mention of the “Kear” (which is likened to a dark snake, c.f. 1:2:1-24) that possesses no shape, no form, no energy but only weight, the light is differs in which it possesses energy but no weight (mass). Both, however, possess neither shape nor shape. Interestingly, also, is that both light and darkness (as typified in Kear) are said to dwell “in between.” It is also interesting to note that it is the dark colour that absorbs light’s energy and thus more receptive to the effects caused by photon movement (hence black clothing feels hot during a sunny summer day). In this sense light and darkness are not necessarily opposed, even though the light represents the primary cause of the movement (light emits photons, enters into the dark) and thus the creative actions.

Consider how the “darkness” and “shady” aspects of your life could also be where the Spirit enters and moves to effect changes and motions.

Dea dwells in between, and it is that in-between moments when we tend to need Dea.

--
Scriptural quotes and verse numbering from the New Celestial Union Version of the Filianic Scriptures. Scriptural text used under Creative Commons Public License, 3.0-by-nc-sa; Interlingua translation by Sarah Morrigan, © 3330/2010, CCPL 3.0-by-nc-nd; Devotional text by Sarah Morrigan, © 2010/3330, CCPL 3.0-by-nc-nd.

Silver Light. (1:3:4)

2010-05-09T00:01:00.000-07:00

"But I shall keep watch in the heavens by night, and there shall be silver light that there may never be complete darkness."

"Ma Io vigilara in le celo in le nocte, e il habera le lumine argentee que il non haberea le obscuritate complete nunquam."

Darkness is an intriguing topic for some people. As a little child, many have felt a sense of excitement in the darkness when their parents would be expecting them to be sound asleep. Yet at the same time humans have an inherent fear of darkness. The same little children could be crying all of sudden at the sound of a monster in the closet!

Dea did not eradicate darkness when the first maid embraced the serpent. Now darkness would be necessary for rest, in this new reality. But She chose a controlled darkness, in which the darkness would not be completely triumphant, nor would be an equal to Dea and Her light.

In a patriarchal religious cosmology, an extreme linear dualism rules. The darkness is evil and is on one end of the one-dimensional spectrum, while the light is good and is on the other end. The real universe is more complex than that. Yet, one must remind herself that even in the midst of darkness She has never abandoned us to fend for ourselves. The silver light of the moon is a reminder, and it also tells us that in the darkness even a little light is noticed.

Vertically and Horizontally. (4:1:31)

2010-05-07T00:01:00.000-07:00

Her webs She outwove, both longwise and crosswise, She spreaded them to cover every corner of the field.

Su telas Illa texeva, ambe verticalmente e horizontalmente, Illa los extendeva pro coperir omne anglo del campo.

The world is not linear. There is the vertical element -- the one that links the heaven to the earth -- and then there is the horizontal element, that which belongs to this material world. The world contains both spiritual and physical meanings, and we are both spiritual and physical beings.

Réné Guénon writes in his books about the primordial symbolism behind the signs of the cross (The Symbolism of the Cross) -- as well as the Chinese character for king, wang 王 (The Great Triad). Both symbols contain a horizontal line and a vertical line intersecting in the middle at the right angle. The letter wang depicts a human being standing between heaven and earth, alluding to the traditional understanding of kingship as a mediator between the heavenly law and the earth, and as a representative of the heavenly sovereign to the land.

Dea has created the world as both vertical and horizontal. Likewise our life needs both vertical and horizontal. We cannot forego the physicality to become spiritual (unless you are one of the very few who are called to pursue an extremely ascetic life), and we cannot neglect the spiritual to take care of the material needs.

God of In-Between (3:1:35)

2010-05-06T00:01:00.000-07:00

I am between the ripple and the water; I am between the dancer and the dance; I am between the breathing and the breath; between the lightest word of greeting and the thought from which it flows.

Io es inter le unda e le aqua; Io es inter le dansator e le dansa; Io es inter le respiration e le sufflo; inter le parola de salutation le plus leve e le pensamento de qual illo afflue.

The place in-between is often where changes happen. Some of the greatest inventions and creative works were made when a person was going from one stage of life to another. The place in-between is also where wars are started and peace is made. The demilitarized zone between the two Koreas still stand as a symbol of the Cold War and nuclear-ridden violence of the bygone era, yet the same DMZ is also now one of the world's rarest treasury of natural wildlife unmolested by humans.

We make a lot of deal about a no-one's land. There is a certain degree of romance in it. In the movie The Terminal (2004), the lead actor depicts a person who has just lost his nationality as his country had just vanished while he was up in the air. A stateless person is among the world's most invisible, marginalized, oppressed and vulnerable people on earth. Having no ability to receive benefits from a government and without any consular protective power, there is no place in which a stateless person has a right to live or make a living. The same is true with refugees, asylees and undocumented immigrants, even if they may nominally have a nationality, that country is in such a mess there may not be even a guarantee of safety.

The place in-between, therefore, is also a place of weakness. Just like it is easier to break a piece of furniture where two pieces are connected, a place of transition, instability and changes is also the weakest link.

Taking this into account, the place in-between is often we need Dea the most.

Inwardness of All Things. (3:1:34)

2010-05-03T11:04:00.000-07:00

For I am the inwardness of all things:

Proque Io es le interior del tote cosas:

People look up to the sky and think of a big old man sitting atop a cloud in his throne. But modern science seems to point us closer to the cosmology of the Filianic Scriptures. Dea is at the centre of all things, and like a wheel, all things emanate from Her and revolve around Her. Each of us is also a microcosm, hence each of us has a central part of our heart in which Dea dwells.

It is analogous to how the universe is structured. In the grand scale, there is our galaxy among many others and there is a central concentration in the middle while others gather around like a wheel. Within that galaxy is a solar system and many others. In both plant and animal cell there is a core. On a subatomic level, we know that there are proton and neutron in the middle, while electrons spin around them. In a sense at all levels of the existence of cosmos there appear to be very similar structures.

The "heaven above" in reality is not really above, either; they point to some unspecific place in the outer space. But the presence of Dea is in the middle of each thing.

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Scriptural quotes and verse numbering from the New Celestial Union Version of the Filianic Scriptures. Scriptural text used under Creative Commons Public License, 3.0-by-nc-sa; Interlingua translation by Sarah Morrigan, © 3330/2010, CCPL 3.0-by-nc-nd; Devotional text by Sarah Morrigan, © 2010/3330, CCPL 3.0-by-nc-nd.

Mystery of Imperfection. (1:3:3)

2010-05-02T00:01:00.000-07:00

She said to Her daughter: "What you have done may not be undone, for you have acted with My Spirit, and henceforth shall time be divided into day and night that you may rest."

Illa diceva a Su filia: "Le qual te ha facite non pote esser disfacer, proque te ha agite con Mi Spirito, e preterea le tempore sera dividite a le dia e le nocte, que te pote reposer."

Why did Dea, the ultimate perfection, make an imperfect world -- or at the very least, permit the imperfection to exist? People ask this question often (similar to the question of why God allows bad things to happen) and theologians and philosophers have always struggled to make a case.

For a moment, let's say She did just undo it when the first human being made a mistake. It is like the "ctrl"+"Z", She could even undelete files from the trash. Those who use graphics software such as Illustrator or Inkscape frequently appreciate the existence of the "ctrl"+"Z" function. It makes the mistake to go away as though it never happened, and allows us to try it again until we get it right, without destroying the whole work and start it all over again.

But those who work with a non-computerized medium of art do not have the same ease in correcting mistakes. Rather, mistakes would lead an artist to an extraordinary creativity, and indeed many works of art are serendipitious products of such unintended "mistakes". It would be far less interesting if a painter can simply undo the last step (or last 10 steps) with "Ctrl"+"Z" or any of its low-tech equivalents.

It is fascinating to think, in a certain respect, that Dea sees us lowly earthlings as someone significant enough that whose mistakes would remain part of Her creation; instead of simply deleting the mistake as though we were so insignificant and whatever we do does not matter, She built the next steps of Her creative acts around our mistakes. She, more than anyone else, knows as the Creator and Mistress of All Things that mistakes are part of our stories and what make who we are.

The icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa is always depicted with a scar across her face. This alludes to an attack by one of the iconoclasts, who attempted to destroy a Marian icon with his sword, but he fled when blood came out of the icon when he slashed it. Iconographers even to this day remember this incident by adding this scar mark to the face of Our Lady of Czestochowa; without it the icon would not be identified as such. Come to think of it, everyone could tell a story or two about a big mistake. As much as one might regret and brood over what has happened, it is true that such mistakes are important part of one's story -- and even many of the most important achievements come out of mistakes.

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Scriptural quotes and verse numbering from the New Celestial Union Version of the Filianic Scriptures. Scriptural text used under Creative Commons Public License, 3.0-by-nc-sa; Interlingua translation by Sarah Morrigan, © 3330/2010, CCPL 3.0-by-nc-nd; Devotional text by Sarah Morrigan, © 2010/3330, CCPL 3.0-by-nc-nd.

Silent Voice? (4:1:30)

2010-04-30T00:01:00.000-07:00

When the word was spoken and the worlds were born, She did observe in silence.

Quando le parola era pronunciate e le mundos era nascite, Illa observava in silentio.

How can one speak and be silent at the same time? In fact, who is doing the speaking while she observed? In this paragraph, we see inhaling and exhaling, wisdom and folly, and outweaving and folding up. Along with the idea that the Mistress of All Things is the sovereign of all matters seen and unseen, this verse also appears to suggest the notion of Dea in both manifest person (the Mother, the Creator) and the unmanifest, the one-beyond-form. While the word was spoken and all things come to existence, it was also simultaneously in utter silence. The creation is such a solemn moment, and this moment continues from the eternal past to the eternal future in the eternally present moment.

In this text, the Clew of the Horse, its purpose is to realign one's mind to the eternal and unchanging. The text tells us to cease the movement of our minds and govern our minds. When one can act and speak while being able to observe herself and her own acts in the inner silence, she is truly mature and in control. This may sound familiar to those who have learned kung fu, kendo or karate; many Asian martial arts train their practitioners in order to be able to do so.

As we shape our lives and the world around us, and use our creative gifts, having this mindful poise and inner silence is to be truly strong.

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Scriptural quotes and verse numbering from the New Celestial Union Version of the Filianic Scriptures. Scriptural text used under Creative Commons Public License, 3.0-by-nc-sa; Interlingua translation by Sarah Morrigan, © 3330/2010, CCPL 3.0-by-nc-nd; Devotional text by Sarah Morrigan, © 2010/3330, CCPL 3.0-by-nc-nd.

Within, and Without. (3:1:33)

2010-04-29T00:01:00.000-07:00

Look without and you shall see within; look within and you shall see without.

Perspecte extra e vos viderea extra; perspecte intra e vos viderea intra.

Dualism with a very linear thinking has permeated the Western cultures and their religious languages. It is therefore hard to conceive -- or even sound contradictory or schizophrenic -- when a statement like this appears in our scriptures.

The cosmology of the scriptures -- and in turn the traditional world -- was rather circular and cyclical. What goes on outside me is to an extent manifestation and reflections of my thoughts and beliefs. Yet, what goes on outside can also affect and shape my thinking and believing. Like inhaling and exhaling these two go together. The New Testament speaks of the Dominion of Heaven being in the midst of the people, and what is bound on earth is bound on heaven. The Quakers speak of God's presence in terms of the "Light Within," and a traditional unprogrammed Quaker worship reflects this view.

Sometimes we tend to look for Dea in places that are far out, detached from our daily lives and reality. This becomes sort of escapist, like a certain New Age cult that looked for a space alien for salvation and eventually committed a mass suicide in preparation for the alleged arrival of the spaceship. We also have a tendency of projecting our own issues upon the perceived idea about heaven, when it is only appropriate to look within and take personal responsibilities.

The message prominent in this part of the Scriptures, the "Thoughts of the Mind," is that much of what goes on in the world is within our ears, and that is where a true change must begin; and also this is where -- at the quiet centre of our minds -- we meet the Holy.

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Scriptural quotes and verse numbering from the New Celestial Union Version of the Filianic Scriptures. Scriptural text used under Creative Commons Public License, 3.0-by-nc-sa; Interlingua translation by Sarah Morrigan, © 3330/2010, CCPL 3.0-by-nc-nd; Devotional text by Sarah Morrigan, © 2010/3330, CCPL 3.0-by-nc-nd.

Not Quite. (1:3:2)

2010-04-28T00:01:00.000-07:00

And whereas all things had been silver, now they took on every hue and colour, and the world was beautiful; but it was not so beautiful as it had formerly been.

E ubi tote cosas habeva essite argentee, nunc illos les assume omne tinctos e colores, e le mundo era belle, ma illo non era assi belle como illo habeva essite previemente.

The key to living in this world is to find beauty in the imperfection. While we never ought to remove our sights from the Perfection, it is also imperative to look at this world in all its goodness as well as imperfection and appreciate the colourfulness therein. Many religious movements come and go, failing to see the beauty in this nevertheless imperfect world, and become dangerously escapist -- that eventually cease from engaging in the world and with the people and the nature.

While we must always remember that all things in this world pale in comparison with the perfect beauty there is in the heavenly realm, we also must never forget to appreciate -- in simplicity and innocence of heart -- how beautiful the world is, like fractals reflecting the light in many colours.

In Vietnam there is a story of a princess of heaven who was first exiled to the earth because she accidentally broke the celestial jade; when she returned to heaven she wanted to return to earth again, this time to enjoy the earthly life and appreciate the natural beauty. In the Eastern Orthodox theological tradition, incarnation is about God redeeming the humanity by entering the world of humanity and into the human life, and thus infusing the divinity into our lives and world. Sometimes incarnational theology becomes a point of contention in the Filianic communities, but it is one way to understand how the love of Dea transforms this world by Her entering -- and thus becoming -- the true splendour of Her glory.

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Scriptural quotes and verse numbering from the New Celestial Union Version of the Filianic Scriptures. Scriptural text used under Creative Commons Public License, 3.0-by-nc-sa; Interlingua translation by Sarah Morrigan, © 3330/2010, CCPL 3.0-by-nc-nd; Devotional text by Sarah Morrigan, © 2010/3330, CCPL 3.0-by-nc-nd.